“Fee and Dividend”: the Best Way to Address Climate Change
James Hansen champions an alternative solution to address climate change called “fee and dividend” which would impose a fee on any pollution source (mines, wells, ports of entry) and distribute the revenue back to the public. Both “fee and dividend” and “cap and trade” attempt to reduce carbon emissions by raising the price of fossil fuels, but Hansen insists that the former is simpler, more effective, and less vulnerable to speculation and gaming. I agree with him.
A pollution tax is the easiest way to incentivize alternative technology and energy efficiency. Give the dividends back to legal citizens, just like Governor Palin did in Alaska.
Cap and trade would create bloated bureaucracies, gaming and corruption. Fee and dividend would promote clean energy without the bureaucracy. Right now America seems to lag behind many other industrialized countries in developing clean technology. We are addicted to cheap coal and oil. Those countries that lead the way to clean energy will benefit economically because they will develop clean technologies and services that they can eventually export to the rest of the world as the demand for clean energy grows.
Interview with Climate Scientist James Hansen on Why He’s Pleased the Copenhagen Summit Failed, “Cap and Fade,” Climategate
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