Issue Position: Carbon Fee and Dividend

Issue Position

The cost of burning fossil fuels is paid by all of us, but the benefits are disproportionately gained by industry. There is very little incentive to control the rate at which fossil fuels are burned or CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

While a carbon tax would disincentive the burning of fossil fuels, the money would enter the federal bureaucracy and be detached from other solutions to the problems associated with climate change.

A carbon fee and dividend, similar to the one proposed by the conservative Climate Leadership Council, would allow businesses to find market-based solutions to their carbon release while benefiting American citizens and providing funding for alternative fuel research and upgrades to our current energy systems. It could also be used to subsidize fuel costs for low-income Americans.

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