Decarbonization During Covid-19

Opportunities can be made from crises. In the midst of today’s pandemic and the growing threat of climate change, I see our slow economy as an opportunity to invest in mitigation policy. I implore government representatives to take this opportunity to support a carbon tax and dividend program where the revenue is used to fund renewable energy projects. This program will create more sustainable jobs, bring in more revenue for many Americans and the government, and create a more equitable and healthy future.

A carbon tax will not only incentivize consumers to reduce carbon emissions, but revenue will be distributed directly to citizens in an equitable way, which voters have historically supported. In British Columbia, the majority of the public supports the province’s significant carbon tax, and gasoline use plummeted in just five years (Mooney 2014). Since lower-income, less carbon-consuming people net more from the dividend, this policy will also reduce inequality (Boyce 2019) and issues of policy discrimination as seen with France’s Yellow Vest Movement can be avoided (“Wanted: A Fair Carbon Tax” 2018). If Rep. Tom Malinowski supported this tax, then New Jersians could see its environmental and economic benefits as early as his second term starting in 2021.

After the tax and dividend system is implemented, net revenue should be directed toward funding renewable energy projects. This is seen successfully in California, where leaders used tax revenue to transition workers from fossil fuel industries to solar and high-speed rail line projects. California expects this transition to create 37,000 more jobs and billions of dollars in revenue (Huber 2018). Revenue should also go toward opening up and modernizing electricity grids so that the public can vote to transition to renewable energy more easily and affordably (Wagner 27).

Our nation should make the dramatic shift to renewable energy because not only is it becoming cheaper, but we are investing in a sustainable market that will keep our citizens healthier for years to come. As solar, wind, and battery prices are suddenly dropping as technology improves (Service 2019), and coal is getting priced out (Figueres et al. 2018), we must make the switch. Even the government will save money by relying less on fossil fuel practices that are becoming increasingly more expensive (Jacobson et al. 2015, 2104). If we continue the transition to nonrenewables, the benefits are astounding: by converting to 100% renewable energy by 2050, we net 2 million jobs, gross $600 billion per year in health savings from reduced air pollution, and save trillions of dollars in global warming costs (Jacobson et al. 2015, 2093).

If our nation implemented a carbon tax and dividend, we would be investing in more jobs and renewable energy projects for a more sustainable economy. I urge the House of Representatives to support a national carbon tax and shift to renewable energy so we can come out of these turbulent times prepared for a prosperous, healthy, and low-carbon future.

Works Cited

Boyce, James K. “Carbon Dividends and the Green New Deal.” The American Prospect, December 5, 2019. https://prospect.org/greennewdeal/carbon-dividends-and-the-green-new-deal/.

Figueres, Christiana, Corinne Le Quéré, Anand Mahindra, Oliver Bäte, Gail Whiteman, Glen Peters, and Dabo Guan. “Emissions Are Still Rising: Ramp up the Cuts.” Nature 564, no. 7734 (December 5, 2018): 27–30. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07585-6.

Huber, Bridget. “California Proves Trump Wrong.” The Washington Post. The Washington Post, January 10, 2018. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.amherst.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=mlin_w_amhercol&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE|A522363379&asid=52fa0995.

Jacobson, Mark Z., Mark A. Delucchi, Guillaume Bazouin, Zack A. F. Bauer, Christa C. Heavey, Emma Fisher, Sean B. Morris, Diniana J. Y. Piekutowski, Taylor A. Vencill, and Tim W. Yeskoo. “100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for the 50 United States.” Energy & Environmental Science 8, no. 7 (2015): 2093–2117. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5ee01283j.

Mooney, Chris. “British Columbia Enacted the Most Significant Carbon Tax in the Western Hemisphere. What Happened Next Is It Worked.” Mother Jones, March 26, 2014. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/british-columbia-carbon-tax-sanity/.

Service, Robert F. “Solar plus Batteries Is Now Cheaper than Fossil Power.” Science 365, no. 6449 (July 12, 2019): 108–. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.365.6449.108.

Wagner, Gernot. “Energy Policy: Push Renewables to Spur Carbon Pricing.” Nature 525, no. 7567 (2015): 27–29. https://doi.org/10.1038/525027a.

“Wanted: a Fair Carbon Tax Unrest in France at a Rise in Fuel Prices Highlights How the Necessary Transition to a Clean Economy Must Be Carefully Managed.” NATURE 564, no. 7735 (2018): 161–61. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07717-y.

This blog post was taken and edited from a school paper.