Dingell Drafts Carbon Tax Legislation

The Carbon Tax Center endorses Congressman John Dingell's Carbon Tax Legislation, set to be introduced later this year. Dingell is chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. The Carbon Tax Center says of the proposal, "we think the bill is terrific." Here's more from CTC:

… The current version would phase in, each year for five years, a charge of $10 per ton of carbon content of coal, oil and natural gas; plus an additional 10 cents/gallon for gasoline and jet fuel (kerosene). By the end of the five-year period the charges would reach $50/ton of carbon plus 50 cents/gallon of gasoline and jet fuel. These equate to 63 cents a gallon of gas and 90 cents for one hundred kilowatt-hours assuming the nationwide average fuel mix. …

We examined a 20-year ramp-up — starting Dingell's "10/10" tax in 2008 and continuing through 2027 to a level of $200 per ton of carbon plus $2/gallon on gasoline and jet fuel. Here's where the U.S. would be in the representative year 2025:

• Carbon dioxide emissions would be down by 1.55 billion metric tons from projected levels, a 20% drop — a decrease equivalent to current emissions from England, France and Italy combined.
• Petroleum consumption would be 4.5 million barrels a day less than otherwise, an 18% decrease from projected usage, and more than 10% greater than Iran's current production.

Moreover, these reductions could be supplemented by savings from other targeted policies and programs to reduce use of petroleum, natural gas and coal-fired electricity. (Indeed, a companion section of Dingell's bill will call for phasing out the federal tax deduction on mortgage interest on very large homes, thus ending a subsidy through which middle and working class families subsidize gargantuan sprawl homes for the wealthy.) No other single policy measure — not broader CAFÉ standards, not a national Renewable Energy Standard, not a massive biofuels push, and certainly not a new generation of subsidized nuclear power plants — can produce nearly the carbon and petroleum savings promised by the Dingell hybrid carbon tax, provided it extends beyond the initial five-year period.

The brilliant touch in the Dingell bill is the supplemental tax on gasoline and aviation fuel. …

Maybe this will take some heat off Dingell, who some environmentalists have criticized as not "on board" on environmental issues. Or maybe not.

I'll echo The Carbon Tax Center's concluding comment: Let Dingell and others know how you feel on this issue.

… We urge you to read Dingell's Web statement and post a comment on his site and at other sites that cover climate, energy, oil, national security, and politics. Having a legislator of Dingell's stature even float a carbon-tax trial balloon is a very important and positive development — possibly a breakthrough. There's a lot riding on it. Be heard.

See Also:

Newsweek, Web-Exclusive Interview, 'This is Going to Hurt', Sept. 27: A defender of the auto industry proposes a carbon tax that will cause everyone pain. Is the country ready for shared sacrifice to combat global warming? …

Daily Kos, Dingell: A dingbat proposal re Global Warming?, A. Siegel, Sept. 26

Econospeak, Economists v. Politicians, Michael Perelman, Sept. 26: … [T]he Wall Street Journal has chimed in reporting that economists as a whole agree that carbon taxes are the way to limit global warming, yet politicians are just as adamant in supporting the cap and trade. Nobody wants to get blamed for raising taxes. Rep. John Dingell (Dem, GM; i.e. General Motors) is still supposed to introduce a carbon just to prove how unpopular such a tax might be. …

NY Times, What is John Dingell Really Up to?, David Leonhardt, Sept. 5

Comments

[Ben Keeler]

I find it very strange that they are allowing comments on the site? Unusual for a government site. Wonder what the reasoning is?

[Matt]

The earth is getting warmer and human activities are a large part of the cause. We need to act in order to prevent a serious problem. The world’s best scientists agree we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80 percent by 2050 in order to limit the effects of global warming and this legislation will put us on track to do just that. This is a massive undertaking, and it will not be easy to achieve 220-602, but we simply must accomplish this goal; our future and our children’s futures depend on it. In order to get to this end we need to have a multi-pronged approach. In addition to an economy wide cap-and-trade program, which would mandate a cap on carbon emissions, a fee on carbon is the most effective way to curb emissions and make alternatives economically viable.