Opinion: Bipartisan Hope Emerging On Climate Change
Down the hall from the impeachment hearings last week, we lobbied our Congressional leaders, Rep. Derek Kilmer and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, for climate solutions. We were joined by 800 other Republican and Democratic Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteers across the country who also had productive and wonderfully civil dialogues with their individual members of congress or staff on how we can together solve the climate crisis.
Thankfully, the bipartisan momentum on creating climate solutions is not limited to CCL’s efforts alone.
In the Senate, Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana is teaming up with Delaware Democrat Chris Coons to form the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. In a jointly written op-ed, the two senators said, “We recognize the simple reality that climate policy is too serious to ram through Congress on a partisan basis. Republicans and Democrats have to work together, compromise, and find common ground.”
The Senate group complements the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House that was established in 2016. Members of both parties come together for serious discussions about solving climate change. Today, there are myriad bipartisan climate bills in the House, thanks in no small part to the collaborative atmosphere the caucus created.
Republicans and Democrats are seeking common ground on climate change because public opinion on the issue has reached a tipping point that cannot be ignored. A CBS News poll last month found that two-thirds of Americans view climate change as a crisis or serious problem, and a majority want immediate action.
Overwhelming majorities of younger GOP voters regard climate change as a serious threat, too: 77 percent of them said so in a survey by Ipsos and Newsy this fall.
It’s not just polling motivating Congress — it’s citizens. Volunteers with CCL are carrying a clear message to their representatives: “Make climate a bridge issue, not a wedge issue.” CCL volunteers have held 1,611 meetings with congressional offices so far this year to bring the parties together on climate change. That message is amplified with thousands of constituent letters.
Now that we have Republicans and Democrats talking to each other about climate solutions, what major climate legislation will they support together?
A price on carbon is a policy that offers promising common ground. Thousands of U.S. economists, including Federal Reserve chairs who served under Republican and Democratic presidents, support carbon pricing as an effective tool to reduce emissions quickly. Newsweek recently surveyed 300 multinational corporations and found that 95% are in favor of mandatory carbon pricing. And according to Luntz Global, carbon pricing that includes a revenue return, or a “carbon dividend” to Americans, has four to one support among all voters. Among GOP voters under 40, that support rises to 75 percent.
This year, four carbon pricing bills have been introduced with bipartisan sponsorship.
Of the four, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763) has attracted the most support by far, with 73 House members now signed on. This legislation would initiate a fee of $15 per metric ton of carbon, rising by $10 per ton each year. All revenue would be paid back out, equally, to EVERY American household so the families themselves can decide how to spend the money. In 10 years, a family of four would receive an annual check of about $3,500. Resources for the Future estimates this policy would reduce carbon emissions 47% by 2030. The bill targets 90% reductions by 2050.
In Washington State, we face considerable and significantly increasing threats from extreme heat, drought, wildfire, and inland/ coastal flooding.
Supporting congressional bill H.R. 763 is an opportunity for all of us in Kitsap County to act in the most rapid, effective and respectful manner to address the climate crisis facing us and our children’s future. We will be joining elected officials across the country, setting aside our differences for the good of our world and acting on solutions.
By: Mark Reynolds, Shelley Jaye and Sandy Spears
Source: Kitsap Sun