A pathway to clean energy: a fee on carbon emissions

Environmental and socially concerned organizations that have been supporting the administration's Clean Power Plan are worried about the Supreme Court's stay of that plan.

While that plan is a much needed effort to move away from fossil fuel combustion and deal with climate change, it is not the best path forward. Distributors of electric power have rightfully argued that the cost of the Clean Power Plan will be passed on to all consumers, and its greatest adverse economic impact will be on the poor.

A better plan would charge fossil fuel producers a steadily increasing fee based on the carbon dioxide emissions of their products and return all the money collected equally to all consumers.

Standard economic modeling has projected that such a carbon fee and dividend program will improve the economy in many ways. It will also lower power plant emissions three times faster than the Clean Power Plan.

It is time for environmental organizations and all individuals to ask federal legislators to support this better pathway to clean energy.

John E. Darovec, Jr.

Bradenton

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A pathway to clean energy: a fee on carbon emissions ."