Anonymous
By the Office of Rep. Carbajal
Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) introduced legislation that will combat climate change while investing directly in American communities: the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.
“We do not have the luxury of time when it comes to getting to carbon neutral. We need to give big corporations a real, unequivocal incentive to shrink their carbon footprint. We need to put a fee on carbon,” said Rep. Carbajal. “With this legislation, not only do we require fossil fuel companies to phase out dirty fossil fuels. We also put money directly into communities that can then use that money to invest in our local economies, create jobs – especially jobs in clean energy sectors, which will be in higher demand. And in the end, we save lives from lowering our emissions curve, cleaning up our air, and keeping us on track to carbon neutrality by 2050.”
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, introduced with Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50), would levy a carbon fee on fossil fuel emissions, incentivizing the transition to carbon-free production and supply chains through an escalating price of carbon to help meet the U.S. goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
The collection of these fees would then be paid out to every American in the form of a carbon dividend, allowing families to cushion against any temporary increases in cost associated with the transition to clean energy as well as stimulate economic growth through direct investment in communities.
“Last Congress, we devoted historic investments to develop and deploy clean energy infrastructure through the IRA and IIJA,” said Rep. Peters. “Now, we need carbon pricing to lower the cost of clean technologies and to incentivize the entire economy to reduce its emissions. Our bill puts us on path to a low carbon future and ensures a just and equitable transition by returning revenues to the American people.”
The legislation would also include a carbon emissions tariff to account for the carbon footprint of goods being imported to the U.S. from other nations, which would undercut the incentive for U.S. companies reducing their carbon footprint.
The bill has the support of the Citizens Climate Lobby, which joined Rep. Carbajal earlier this week in Santa Barbara to announce his introduction of the bill this week. The Santa Barbara event can be viewed here.
“CCL applauds Rep. Carbajal for introducing this legislation. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act represents big, bold, necessary action on climate change that our grassroots advocates in his district and around the country are eager to see. Corporate polluters should no longer be allowed to use our air as a trash can, freely emitting carbon pollution and warming our world. Instead, polluters should pay — and under this legislation, they will. Rep. Carbajal’s bill charges polluters a rising fee for every ton of carbon pollution they put in our atmosphere, encouraging them to shift to low-carbon alternatives as fast as possible. And the money goes to Americans as a carbon cashback payment, keeping the energy transition affordable for everyone. This legislation is a climate solution that matches the scale of the problem, and it keeps Americans’ health and wellbeing at the forefront of the fight,” said Citizens Climate Lobby Executive Director Mark Reynolds.
“As evangelical Christians, we are called to be good stewards of God’s creation and ensure all children and families have a healthy environment to grow and thrive in. Climate change and carbon pollution, however, already threaten the health and lives of Americans across the country – particularly our children, both born and unborn, whose developing hearts, lungs, and brains are most susceptible to the harmful effects of fossil-fuel pollution like mercury, arsenic, particulates (soot), and ozone (smog),” said Rev. Dr. Jessica Moerman, President/CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network. “That is why we are pleased with the introduction of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA) by Representative Carbajal (CA-24). EICDA and other carbon pricing proposals are a win-win for American families and the American economy: proposals that reduce carbon pollution, protect low- and middle-income families from cost increases, advance the clean energy economy, incentivize innovation, and keep American businesses competitive on the world stage. We need market-based and fiscally responsible solutions to our changing climate that deliver real results on reducing carbon pollution without placing undue burdens on low-income and working-class families by providing dividends. We look forward to working with the Rep Carbajal to make carbon pricing a cost-effective solution to the climate and pollution crises that can catalyze the deployment of clean infrastructure and give our children the bright, healthy future they deserve.”
More information on the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act can be found HERE.
A section-by-section summary can be found HERE.
The full text of the legislation can be found HERE.
Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th Congressional District, encompassing Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County. He is a member of the Agriculture and Armed Services Committees, as well as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he serves as the top Democrat on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee.
Good job Salud another tax the feds can keep- put a tax on EV’s carbon foot print – and with out the feds or states sticky fingers in it
GIZMO – this is an incentive fee. Taxing EV’s for trying to do the right thing is counter intuitive. Why penalize EV manufacturer’s for building cars that are cleaner than IC vehicles?
EV’s are not carbon free to produce nor to charge. Why exempt them from a carbon tax? Based on your other comment above, the tax would push EV companies to “act with more urgency” in cleaning up their CO2 heavy supply chain, and power companies to cleaner energy production.
VOICE – “EV’s are not carbon free to produce nor to charge. ” Never said they were. It’s about incentive to move away from fossil fuels. Why would we impose fees on those who are trying to clean up our planet?
But… not getting into this with you again. The “less pollution is better than lots of pollution” idea falls on deaf ears with your crowd, no matter how many times it’s hammered in.
LOL! The Kool-Aid is flowing once again… Carbajal is SUCH a good soldier for “The Narrative…”
Just a money grab for this lobbyists and campaign financiers. For his actual constituents, the people he’s supposed to represent, it will increase the price of everything while providing zero measurable change to our “climate”. We are doing much worse things to our environment than emitting carbon dioxide.
Like having the Saudi’s, Venezuelan’s, and other oil producing nations without environmental controls or standards producing the life-blood of industry and our economy… I’m all for green tech, but it’s not an “all or nothing” proposition or a “feel good. but we’ll suffer as a nation and let others profit’ policy as this insane Administration is doing. I was born and raised in CA and I can tell you that the SMOG situation is next to NIL compared to 25 yrs ago. Even Diesels are more efficient and clean burning- they deliver your food, amazon goods and EVERYTHING else… CLUE IN
“We are doing much worse things to our environment than emitting carbon dioxide.” – like what?
“I was born and raised in CA and I can tell you that the SMOG situation is next to NIL compared to 25 yrs ago. ” – Lol, yeah so? All good, no need to move away from fossil fuels! COAST says the smog is better! Tear down the wind turbines and oil up the pumps!
Says one without.
Sac @4:04- Like Coast said below. But worse is everything you, me, and everyone buys. There is a reason all the cheap shit you buy is cheap…. Zero environmental laws and slavery. I know I keep bringing it up and getting ignored but it’s the truth and everyone knows it. We bitch about our neighbor with a bbq and buy shit from China. The best solution isn’t to add another tax that big companies are going to pay… We’re going to pay any tax put on a company. It feels like “some people” think the government should be the sole employer because they know best! That’s where this shits going.
Bravo! Thanks again, Congressman Carbajal.
sacjon
I agree it is counter intuitive, but it is kind of like why your water bill goes higher even though you use less. Current fuel taxes go to fix the roads, EV’s use the roads.
I realize it is called an “incentive fee” but it is probably best described as a disincentive fee to use fossil fuels because it is punitive. I believe what GIZMO1 was trying to say was that the corporations who make EV’s and their components are polluters as well and they should pay their fair share, no carve outs. I think the post also was touching on the fact that $1 in feses collected will result in less that $0.70 to the poor because of bureaucracy.
Recently an EU official put out the following at the Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/7e94bc82-c358-4a8c-b539-781d62dbc3c9
Ditte Juul Jørgensen told the Financial Times that the EU had “the instruments that we need” to endure another winter energy crisis in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. These included conservation and more renewable energy.
But she said the bloc’s reliance on exports of US liquefied natural gas would persist.
“We will need some fossil molecules in the system over the coming couple of decades. And in that context, there will be a need for American energy,” said Jørgensen, director-general for energy in the European Commission, in an interview in New York.”
“And it appears like the European dependence on natural gas exports from the United States isn’t going away anytime soon. Bloomberg reported today that a major German utility, Uniper, has negotiated an LNG deal through the late 2030s.
Europe is stuck between its aggressive climate commitments and its enduring need for natural gas, a need that America’s booming oil-and-gas export sector is eager to fill, even as the United States finally ostensibly has a climate change policy aimed at transitioning its domestic economy to lower emissions.”
Great idea! Push emitting companies to act with more urgency and at the same time, invest in our community by helping people offset any increases in their bills from converting to cleaner energy. In theory, it’s terrific!