To the Editor:

In this election year, and as our planet warms, Joe Biden’s plan and the House Committee Report: Solving the Climate Crisis, are both getting increased media coverage. However, both plans are missing a piece that would make both plans successful: a carbon pricing component.

There are now two studies–the Energy Innovation study by the non-partisan Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology firm, and the Resources for The Future study by a non-profit conducting research in energy and natural resources issues. They show that without a carbon pricing component, the House Select Committee’s climate plan is unlikely to reach its own stated goals. Alternatively, H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 (EICDA) contains a critical market-based carbon pricing component that will reduce America’s emissions by at least 40% in the first 12 years while returning the fees collected from carbon producers to each citizen, not the federal government, thereby benefitting low and middle income Americans.

As a member of the Portland chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, I’m writing to heighten awareness of the EICDA that to date has 81 sponsors in the House of Representatives. I urge everyone to learn more about this well-researched bill that already has momentum building in the United States Congress.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/763

Martha Petersen
Portland