It was encouraging to see the Tribune’s report on the outcome of the climate talks in Durban, South Africa: a path forward to a worldwide legal agreement to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. At long last, the biggest and fastest-growing greenhouse gas emitters ? China, the U.S. and India ? have come to grips with the most urgent and contentious issue facing humanity.
Unprecedented bouts of budget-busting extreme weather in recent years have given us a taste of what to expect if we fail to follow through. But while the agreement is encouraging, we can ill afford to wait until 2020 to start bringing down our fossil fuel emissions. We must act now to meet our responsibility to future generations.
The simplest, most transparent and most fiscally conservative policy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Impose a fee on carbon-based fuels at the wellhead or mine exit, based on carbon content, and rebate the proceeds back to American families. This would unleash the free market to determine the most cost-effective methods to cut carbon emissions, whether through efficiency, renewables, carbon capture, or whatever else American ingenuity can produce.
Legislation based on this approach, the Save Our Climate Act, has been introduced in the U.S. House. Given the urgency of the situation, our congressional delegation should give this bill serious consideration. It’s time for the politicians to stop posturing and act in the best interests of America and the world.
— Rick Knight, Ken O’Hare, Perry Recker and Jack Baker, Citizens Climate Lobby, Chicagoland Chapter
