While I applaud Aaliyah Alberts’ concern about climate disruption, she is misinformed in claiming that climate change can’t be addressed by market-based solutions (“Market-based solutions won’t address climate change,” Nov. 20). According to over 3,000 of our nation’s leading economists, putting a price on carbon is the most immediate strategy for moving away from carbon-based fuels.
One must recognize the political constraints dictated by our recent elections. It is naive to think that Utah’s legislators and Congress are going to pass her desired mandates. A viable climate solution requires bipartisan legislation. A market-based price on carbon can speed up the transition to renewables far faster than hoping for legislative mandates.
It is critical that we enlist private sector innovation to achieve greater efficiency standards through clean energy research and public-private partnerships. All this begins with a tax on carbon to incentivize innovation.
HB 763, the Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act, has Republican and Democratic cosponsors; details at citizensclimatelobby.org. This legislation would offer all U.S. citizens a dividend check and includes a border adjustment fee to encourage our trade partners to enact a similar price on carbon-based fuels. Low- and moderate-income households would benefit more than the wealthy due to their smaller carbon footprint.
Jean M. Lown, Logan