Delaware City Council is expected to consider a resolution Monday, June 11, that calls on Congress to pass federal legislation designed to minimize the effects of carbon emissions.
Such legislation would create a "carbon fee and dividend" promoted by the Citizens Climate Lobby.
Two members of the lobby's Delaware chapter addressed council before its May 14 meeting, when Councilman Chris Jones said he would call for a June 11 vote on the resolution.
Sharlee Murphy told council the fee and dividend would reduce emissions and "price carbon to reflect its true external costs," with the goal of reversing climate change.
The plan calls for adding a fee to the price of carbon-based fuel, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The fee would be small at first, Murphy said, to minimize initial economic impact. Minus "minimal administrative costs," the fee would be distributed among households as "a monthly energy dividend."
The lobby's website -- citizensclimatelobby.org/carbon-fee-and-dividend -- explains the fee "will stimulate investment in alternative-energy technologies, and give all businesses powerful incentives to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprints in order to remain competitive."
The energy dividend, the website says, will "ensure that families and individuals can afford the energy they need during the transition to a greenhouse gas-free economy, and the dividends will stimulate the economy."
The dividend also could help consumers "pay the higher prices of goods and services caused by the higher price of fossil fuels. This allows businesses to pass along the increased cost and keep market share. ... Everyone is on a level playing field, so businesses who do not become more energy-efficient and start converting to low-emissions energy will become less competitive and risk losing market share," the website says.
Murphy also said the provision would include a border adjustment on goods from countries with no carbon fee, "to make a level playing field for our businesses."
Marianne Gabel, another Delaware member of the Citizens Climate Lobby, told council Congress has a bipartisan 70-member Climate Solutions Caucus, and a poll showed Ohio conservatives favor clean energy.
She also said the U.S. Department of Defense considers climate change a "threat multiplier."
If climate-related famine or storms create unrest in nations such as those in the Middle East, she said, "conflicts over climate-related issues" could arise.
The proposed resolution says, in part, "the City of Delaware strongly encourages the U.S. Congress to enact a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend system with the speed appropriate to the gravity and urgency of the situation, and in recognition of the benefits realized in transitioning to clean energy. Be it further resolved by the Delaware City Council that the City of Delaware shall work toward policies and technological innovation that will reduce the city's carbon emissions."
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