Bill would set a price on carbon, give rebate to consumers

I read the recent editorial (“State must make its own path to address climate change,” The Herald, Dec. 2) with much interest.

I agree that the states must take their own initiative to deal with climate change because we have not been able to count on the federal government. However, there is a ray of hope recently introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives, the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act,” which was sponsored by a bipartisan group of four representatives.

This bill was a year and a half in the writing as the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus worked out the language and details. Its attributes are that it will be effective in decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, it is bipartisan, it will create jobs and will improve environmental health problems, saving lives.

The editorial stated that I-1631 which would have imposed a fee on carbon in this state failed because people feared increased costs of fuel. This bill would impose a $15 per ton fee on carbon but would return 100 percent of the collected fees to households, thus offsetting any increase in fuel costs. It does not expand government nor add bureaucracy.

With the release of the report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment, we learned that the catastrophic consequences of climate change are approaching much faster than earlier predicted.We must set aside partisan preoccupations and listen to what scientists are telling us and act in an effective, decisive rapid manner.

Please contact your Representative and ask them to support this bill in the next Congress. To learn more about HR7173 go to energyinnovation.org or search for HR 7173.

Suzanne Hunsley

Edmonds