Institute Advisor and former Secretary of State George Shultz and a group of respected Republican leaders including James Baker and Henry Paulson recently launched the Climate Leadership Council, and have publicly advocated for a carbon tax. They favor setting a price on carbon as a way to encourage energy efficiency and limit the impact of climate change.
Their plan to address climate change has received considerable press attention but is unlikely to be adopted by U.S. regulators anytime soon. Republicans rarely prioritize climate change initiatives and environmentalists, for the most part, prefer that revenue generated by the tax be used to fund clean energy projects instead of providing a dividend to taxpayers as advocated by Shultz and Baker. Environmentalists also object to their proposal which includes a roll back of Obama’s climate regulations.
In 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger opted for a more bi-partisan market based approach to addressing climate change when he insisted upon the creation of a cap and trade system in the negotiations that lead to California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act. Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal funds raised via California’s cap and trade system are used for projects that reduce emissions and help low income communities with sustainable development.
The Institute applauds thought leaders from both parties who are engaged in finding solutions to the challenge of climate change.
Read more in The Wall Street Journal article: A Conservative Answer to Climate Change