CCL Hawaii Media Contributions

Citizens’ Climate Lobby Hawaii Members are active in the news. We write Letters to the Editor, publish opinion pieces, participate in interviews, and join talk shows. Here are the latest articles from across our chapters.

March 9, 2022 - On divesting from the fossil-fuel industry

by Laurel Brier

If you have installed a solar water heater or you are riding the bus, recycling, consuming less, planting trees or cutting meat out of your diet, you are taking personal responsibility for reducing your own carbon footprint. And yet your bank, retirement fund, IRA or other investments may be countering all your good efforts with their investing your money in fossil fuel.

With Congress in a stalemate and greenhouse-gas emissions continuing to rise, there is movement and reason for hope with the divestment campaign. Divestment is moving money away from the fossil-fuel industry and investing in climate solutions which are creating new, safer, better-paying skilled jobs. The biggest block to climate action is the fossil-fuel companies themselves. All institutions, as well as individuals, need to stop supporting their destructive practices by no longer financially investing in fossil- fuel companies. Besides, fiscally, the fossil-fuel industry is becoming an unstable investment with a poor future.

Ten years ago, students in universities around the country started demanding their schools’ rich endowments quit investing in fossil fuels. 350.org helped coordinate the divestment movement, and faith groups soon joined the universities that were divesting. Before long the movement expanded to pension funds, hospitals, cities and philanthropic foundations. In 2014 the movement went global when Bishop Desmond Tutu spoke boldly at the World Summit, calling for all to divest from fossil fuel and invest in climate solutions. The demands from the divest/invest campaign also include investing a minimum of 5% of assets in climate solutions.

The pressure is now on banks, insurers, investors and other financial institutions to divest. Financial firms, with more than $8 trillion in combined assets, have already divested their fossil-fuel holdings.

Some 71 countries have divest/invest campaigns, and $40 trillion has been pledged for divestment. It has become one of the most-successful campaigns in history. In 2016, Peabody, the world’s largest coal company, listed divestment as one of the main reasons they went out of business. The value and credibility of the fossil-fuel industry has plummeted in recent years and, for the first time, in the 2020 presidential election, the majority of the candidates refused to take money from fossil-fuel companies.

A new campaign from 350.org is pushing the Federal Reserve to divest from fossil fuel. The first action is to fill the vacant Federal Reserve Board seats with climate-conscience people.

Most often, people do not know where their bank, IRA or pension fund has invested their money. There are options and resources, such as banking with a local credit union, which invests in the local economy. Or online bank/investors such as Aspiration, Green Century and Amalgamated that have climate-friendly, socially responsible options and transparency. Even big investment firms such as Black-Rock and Vanguard, after public demand, are now offering fossil-free options as well. You can use the site fossilfreefunds.org to see the rate of your investment. Or betterment.com helps you set up your own portfolio to fit your values.

Unfortunately, our Hawai‘i Employee Retirement System still has funds invested in fossil fuels and about $181 million invested in the timber industry, which means continuing destructive deforestation.

ERS leadership has opposed legislative efforts to divest, saying they prefer “engagement” versus divestment. Engagement, as employed by shareholder activists to unseat Exxon board members, can be effective when aggressively pursued. Still, fossil- fuel investments are a risk for both investors and the planet now, and that is why ERS is being pushed to divest from these companies. Divestment bills were introduced this legislative session in the state House and Senate, but both died without hearings.

March 7, 2022 - Canada has success with carbon pricing, rebates

by Virginia Tincher

Thanks to John Cheever for providing correct information about the success of carbon pricing and rebate in the Canadian province of British Columbia (“Carbon tax can have good results in Hawaii,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 2).

Seven of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories are now using carbon pricing and rebates. The Canadian Press reports that most households are getting more in rebates than they are paying in higher energy prices. Canadians refer to the rebate as their “climate action incentive.”

Some worry a carbon price might contribute to inflation. It would not. A recent Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) review of carbon pricing systems in Canada and Europe found they are not inflationary. In particular, countries that return carbon tax revenue to households have not seen inflationary effects.

Hawaii’s carbon pricing and rebate bill, House Bill 2278, has 23 co-sponsors and passed the House with strong support.

March 6, 2022 - The Garden Island - Carbon cash-back works, benefits most families financially

House Bill 2278 is a very-important bill being considered by the state Legislature because it is a crucial tool to address the climate crisis we face.

The bill is designed to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The purpose of this letter is to clarify the bill and its beneficial effect on both reducing carbon emissions and helping to put more money in the pockets of the majority of Hawai‘i’s families.

HB2278 assesses a tax on the distributors of fossil fuels, for example, refineries, and returns the total amount of the tax revenue (less administrative fees) to households in Hawai‘i in equal shares. The allocation back to households would be made through refundable tax credits.

This bill applies the carbon fee and dividend model, which has been endorsed by thousands of economists, including 28 Nobel Laureate economists, four former chairs of the Federal Reserve, and 15 former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisors.

This model is the subject of a study by the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization. The Legislature appropriated $150,000 for this study. Unlike other studies, this one is specific to Hawai’i.

The UHERO study reports the economic results of allocating all of the tax revenue (or dividend) to households in equal shares. The study finds that for a carbon fee starting at $50 per metric ton in 2025, rising to $70 in 2045, the average household for the lowest four income quintiles would benefit, with the greatest net gain experienced by households in the lowest income quintile. The fifth and highest quintile would break even. For most households, the dividend would more than compensate for the increase in prices resulting from the carbon tax.

According to the study, the average household in the lowest income quintile would experience a net gain of $900 in the first year of the program. That net gain would decline to $700 in the last year (2045) due to declining tax revenue. The declining tax revenue is consistent with declining fossil-fuel consumption and declining greenhouse-gas emissions, which is the purpose of the tax. So rather than this decline being seen as a negative, it will show that the bill truly has made a difference, lowering our greenhouse-gas emissions substantially.

The UHERO study concludes that the carbon pollution fee along with existing legislation causes emissions to decline by 40% below 1990 levels. Since revenues are distributed to households in equal shares, the policy is progressive.

According to most climate scientists, new data show that we have less time than we previously thought to make the drastic changes needed to avoid a global climate disaster. HB2278 should grab our attention and support because it both effectively reduces greenhouse- gas emissions and benefits Hawai‘i’s families.

Last year the Legislature adopted state Senate Concurrent Resolution 44, which recognizes that we are facing a climate emergency. We need a multi-faceted solution to avert a global climate disaster. HB2278 is an important part of that solution.

Dr. Helen A. Cox is chair of the Kaua‘i Climate Action Coalition and colead of the Kaua‘i Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby. Prior to her retirement, she served as chancellor of Kaua‘i Community College for over a decade.

March 4, 2022 - Carbon Cashback: Good for the Planet and the Pocketbook

Hawaii’s leaders are moving along one of the most consequential climate policies considered by our Legislature — a carbon fee and refundable tax credit.

The measure, House Bill 2278, promises to create an environment that will accelerate our transition away from fossil fuels, contributing to much-needed emissions reductions while protecting our low-to-moderate income households. It does this by putting a predictable increasing price on carbon pollution.

This will increase the cost of fossil fuels and incentivize reducing their utilization — much as a tax on cigarettes reduced consumption. Furthermore, HB 2278 mandates that the tax revenue be returned to residents to offset the expected increase in prices. This allows the tax to be progressive — it does not grow government but will enable residents, especially those in low-to-moderate income households, to benefit.

More

February 24, 2022 - EV calculator

by Ron Reilly

Thank you for the front-page article, “Isle transition to EVs slow” (Tribune-Herald, Feb. 14).

Regarding the cost-effectiveness comparison between EVs and gasoline cars, there is a free online calculator at https://chooseev.com/savings-calculator/.

Put in the make/model of the EV you may be considering and the make/model of the gas/diesel vehicle you are presently driving.

Enter the local price at the pump and the cost per kilowatt hour of your home electricity from the Hawaiian Electric bill, and up comes the estimated dollar saving per month of driving electric, based on the number of miles per year you drive.

Also, Hawaiian Electric may have a home EV charging program that could work for greater savings.

In Hawaii, with our year-round warm weather, the cost savings will likely be greater than the calculator estimates. And, if you drive conservatively using regenerative braking, your results likely will be even more impressive.

I greatly enjoy the fun, the efficiency and the dollar savings of my Kia Niro EV, not to mention the health benefits of clean air and the environmental benefits compared to burning gas or diesel.

Ron Reilly - Volcano

February 6, 2022 - Tax enables sharing the cost of carbon

by Jaymen Laupola, Barry Solomon, and Noel Morin

Our fossil fuel dependence is responsible for climate change, which is now causing extreme weather and natural disasters worldwide. This existential threat will continue to increase unless urgent action is taken to eliminate our dependence. To remedy this, we must account for fossil fuels’ true cost to society.

Love – Hate Relationship

Fossil fuels have transformed the world’s economies, enabled innovation, increased productivity, and enhanced the quality of life for many. The concentrated energy found in oil, gas, and coal enables the technology, automation, and work that we have grown to cherish and depend upon.

Fossil fuels, however, have contributed to high environmental and societal costs. The extraction, processing, transport, and burning of coal, oil, and gas have resulted in egregious consequences – pollution of our air, land, and water, and climate change. The costs of the resulting diseases and deaths, natural disasters, and the environmental restoration and adaptation measures required to mitigate the impacts are borne by society. This situation contributes to incredible profits for the industry at the expense of everyone else.

Much like the destructive addictions that we’ve seen in history (e.g., the nicotine addiction fueled by Big Tobacco and the recent opioid epidemic spurred on by the pharmaceutical industry), the profit motive and ignorance of social costs have contributed to benefits for a few and an immense burden for many. In the case of our fossil fuel addiction, the profit is at the expense of our planet.

The Social Cost

The fossil fuel industry has avoided an estimated $2.5 trillion in health and environmental costs each year worldwide. This avoidance suppresses the prices of fossil fuels below their true cost, encourages consumption, and escalates climate change. Who pays? We do, and, in many cases, we aren’t even aware of it.

These unaccounted consequences to society factor into the social cost of carbon – the estimate of the damage caused by emitting one additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The federal government estimates this cost at $51 per ton. 

Sharing the Cost of Carbon

The Hawaii Legislature has introduced SB2732 and HB2278, which will assess taxes on fossil fuels around $51 per ton of carbon dioxide, which the Federal government currently estimates as the marginal cost of carbon emissions. At that rate, fossil fuel companies would be charged for costs currently being shouldered by society - they would be paying their fair share.

A carbon tax would discourage the consumption of fossil fuels and result in price increases for products that are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The increased (more accurate) costs will lead people to conserve energy, shift to energy-efficient appliances and equipment, adopt electric cars and renewable energy, and other behaviors that will reduce fossil fuel dependence.

This shift is feasible as the needed technologies already exist and are dropping in prices. There are also local and federal incentives to offset the costs. 

It gets better.  

A carbon pricing policy that includes distributing the money back to residents will provide people with cash to adjust to the expected price increases for fuels and energy. Lower and middle-income classes are likely to come out ahead, and they will benefit more if they adopt lower-carbon lifestyles. This distribution of carbon tax revenue to people is a feature of legislative bills SB2732 and HB2278.

Fighting our fossil fuel addiction is about a transition to clean energy options that would allow us to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s a fight to ensure a livable world for our kids and future generations. 

A carbon tax will help us make this transition.

February 6, 2022 - The climate emergency is a health emergency

by Laurel Brier

The climate-change emergency has caused a health emergency for all of us.

Over 46 million health workers worldwide presented a letter to the climate talks at the COP26 in November, calling for climate action for the health and well being of humanity. Under the Global Climate and Health Alliance, their letter outlined the health emergency related to and exacerbated by the same factors driving climate change and have resulted from the impacts of it.

Fossil fuels are the key drivers of climate chaos, and have long been known to be the major pollutants of the air we breathe. They are responsible for nearly 9 million premature deaths a year.

The higher temperatures we are experiencing speed up the hazardous, ground level ozone. Ozone and other pollution make it difficult to breathe, contributing to asthma and other pulmonary diseases.

Air pollution exacerbates coronavirus, making people’s lungs more vulnerable to the effects of the infection. Children are especially susceptible to the effects of heat, asthma, allergies and insect-borne diseases

The first nationwide study on rising temperatures and children shows greater impacts on younger people.

Heat stress and air pollution can lead to preterm labor and increased risk of low birth rates. New findings are showing that air pollution can harm our brains, increasing the risk of dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders in older people, and affect the developing brains and nervous systems of babies in vitro.

Extreme heat increases the likelihood of heart disease and strokes. Worldwide heat waves are now unprecedented, such as the one in western Canada this past year that killed 500 people.

The UN has issued a warning that we have entered the era of pandemics. Global viral outbreaks were rare until recent decades. The primary reason for the appearance of these diseases is a warming planet, which has allowed, and sometimes forced, insects and animals to migrate to new areas.

Diseases that originated in the wild, in animals, and were once contained there, are now infecting humans. Warming conditions of climate change have promoted their spread and dramatically expanded their range. More pandemics, like that of COVID, are predicted.

Floods have led to outbreaks of deadly waterborne illnesses like cholera and typhoid fever when there is resulting sewage overflow and contaminated drinking water supplies. Melting permafrost is also releasing ancient microbes that today’s humans have never been exposed to, and consequently are without resistance.

Behavioral and mental health challenges have been directly linked to a worsening climate. Studies even connect climate change to violent crime. And if all this doesn’t cause you to be anxious and depressed, you’re not paying attention. Critical mental-health issues related to the climate crisis are being given serious attention, and will be discussed in another article.

Climate change is the most-significant public health challenge in the world today. But we can reframe climate solutions as opportunities to invest in public health, which will make our world healthier and safer and more just. if we do what we know needs to be done, there will be immediate benefits, fewer respiratory problems, more green spaces, health care for all, healthier food, more resilient communities, and new and better job opportunities.

Climate change is not a faraway problem that no one can fix, as corporate-sponsored media may lead you to believe. We can be the movement that creates a fossil-fuel-free world. We will see immediate changes, recognize and understand that a low-carbon future is actually good for our health and all other life on our planet.

January 31, 2022 - Let’s Put A Price On Carbon

By Noel Morin

Legislation that would pay people to improve the environment and mitigate climate change has been introduced in Congress and in the Hawaii Legislature — House Bill 2278 and Senate Bill 2732 are the state proposals.

Putting a gradually rising tax on fossil fuels coming into our economy and passing along the collected money to our residents is a strategy that will help us transition to cleaner energy and transportation. Pricing is a powerful solution as it incentivizes a system-wide change in consumer and producer behavior.

More.

January 23, 2022 - To support isle families, enact carbon fee to reduce emissions

By Helen Cox Kalaheo and Susan Gorman-Chang

The Hawaii Tax Review Commission recently recommended that Hawaii implement a carbon fee and dividend to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, which would in turn reduce the devastating effects of climate change. That is first on its list of recommendations. The commission is composed of citizens and is guided by the principles of equity, efficiency and adequacy.

Carbon fee and dividend was also the subject of two extensive studies conducted by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO), which concluded that this model would be effective in reducing fossil fuel emissions. The state Legislature funded the first study by appropriating $150,000 for it.

The basic concept of the carbon fee and dividend model is simple. It rewards people who are low users of fossil fuels, and it penalizes high users. Notably, the study finds that the commission’s proposal would benefit most of Hawaii’s families financially. Although family expenses would increase because of a tax on fossil fuels, these families would also receive a monetary dividend. Most families would receive a larger dividend than the increase in their spending.

Whether a specific family experiences a net gain or a net loss — and the size of the gain or loss — depends on various factors. UHERO estimates that the lowest income quintile of households would experience an average initial net gain of $700 under the commission’s proposal.

Carbon fee and dividend assess a tax on importers and producers of fossil fuels. Most of the tax is expected to be passed down to consumers. The higher prices would discourage consumption, reducing fossil fuel emissions.

To understand what the effect higher prices would have, one can look at what happens when gasoline prices have increased in the past due to market forces. Consumption drops because many people find ways to reduce their driving. In the same way, the tax will reduce consumption of fossil fuels and thus reduce climate changing emissions.

However, that’s only half of the policy story. The commission’s proposal returns 80% of the revenues in equal shares in what they call a “cashback.” This monetary dividend makes the policy progressive rather than regressive. In fact, the great majority of low-income families would come out ahead financially.

The tax revenue can be thought of as a pot of money. Low users of fossil fuels put small amounts of money into the pot in the form of taxes. High users put large amounts into the pot. Despite the different amounts contributed, the pot of money is divided equally for distribution, so that each person or household gets the same amount. Low users get more than they put in, and high users get less than they put in. The methodology creates an incentive to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Carbon fee and dividend bills introduced in the state Legislature in 2021 are still alive in this 2022 session, and others may be introduced. The bills vary somewhat in the tax rate on fossil fuels, and they vary greatly in the size of the monetary dividends. However, all bills can be amended to replicate the proposal made by the commission or carbon cashback scenarios analyzed by UHERO, thereby making these bills progressive and leaving the average low-income household with more money in their pocket.

Hawaii can demonstrate its continued national leadership on climate change. Hawaii was the first state to set a net zero carbon emissions goal, and the first state to declare a climate emergency. The 2022 legislative session began on Wednesday. Hawaii has the imminent opportunity to be the first state in the nation to pass carbon fee and dividend legislation.

January 15, 2022 - Unite state, country on carbon pricing

by Carol Cam

We see the results of climate change in extreme weather causing crop failures, coral reef die-off, global unrest and migration. People and fellow creatures die from heat and natural disasters. International scientists, economists, military analysts and world leaders agree that global warming beyond 1.5 degrees centigrade will trigger climate tipping points that will threaten life.

The most effective resolution to climate crises is to decrease global warming by ceasing to use fossil fuel. Instead, we must use solar, wind, hydropower, ocean tidal power, geothermal, green hydrogen and other innovative energy tools.

Carbon pricing can effectively discourage and decrease fossil fuel production and use. Twelve states and 23 countries have carbon pricing, yet Hawaii and the U.S. as a whole are slow to adopt it.

In March 2020, Hawaii’s Senate passed a carbon pricing bill that the House still needs to pass. Hawaii has the nation’s highest electricity and natural gas rates, despite having the third-lowest electricity consumption of all states. Hawaii will continue to suffer from high energy prices if it depends on imported fossil fuels.

In Congress, the current Build Back Better bill has more consensus on the climate provisions than on the rest of the bill. Furthermore, climate scientists warn the transition to renewable energy isn’t fast enough. Climate Central news reported that since 2020, a 67 percent increase in major power outages was caused by climate events and the Pentagon said climate change threatens U.S. security.

I suggest readers volunteer with Citizens Climate Lobby.

Carol Cam

Lahaina

January 9, 2022 - Economic interests depend on a healthy planet

By Laurel Brier

Economic interests cannot come at the expense of a livable planet. Indeed, our economic interests depend on a healthy planet. Take a look at the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused an immediate loss of an estimated 10,000 jobs and over $1 billion in revenue lost to the commercial fishing industry. Now, a decade later, the area has still not environmentally or economically recovered.

The corporate rhetoric says, “It will cost jobs if we stop manufacturing (guns, plastics, cigarettes, pesticides)”; and “It will hurt businesses if we (regulate, protect, effect change);” and “We can’t afford to (tackle climate change, clean up the air and water, transition to green jobs).”

The corporate narrative has pronounced that climate action will always negatively affect our economic prosperity. It is, in truth, exactly the opposite.

We cannot have a healthy economy, or a healthy, thriving population, without a healthy planet. We need to reverse this thinking. Rather than perceiving the economy as separate from the health of our planet, all our economic planning needs to include analysis of how that planning will affect our planetary environment.

First, we need to reexamine how we talk about the economy and how we measure economic prosperity.

Economics is not a hard science such as physics or chemistry. It is changing models and theories. We currently measure the wellbeing of our economy by the gross domestic product, which calculates all that is produced, manufactured or generated in a country.

For example, following this formula, the more people who are sick and pay for treatment are measured as part of the GDP. More is better utilizing this model, regardless of what it is, as long as it drives up the GDP. We have inherited and accepted an economic model that pursues untethered growth and calls it prosperity and success. As individuals, we work to accumulate more and more ‘stuff,’ and define that as personal prosperity and success.

Self-proclaimed ‘renegade’ economists, such as Kate Raworth, are entertaining different economic models that are based on regenerative and distributive systems that respect the natural finite limits of the environment and the rights of humans to have their basic needs met; models that are circular rather than linear.

These concepts are not new and were the practice in Hawai‘i and elsewhere prior to colonization and the imperialistic practices of extraction, export and import. They do continue to exist despite the dominant culture narrative in many places, and are receiving attention as we struggle to define a sustainable economic model.

We have an opportunity to fix an economic model that is failing the majority of people on multiple fronts — because the factors that are destroying our planet are also destroying people’s quality of life.

We have an opportunity to invest in a better future for all. We can create new jobs with livable wages, rebuild our infrastructure that will be more resilient to the extreme weather that is becoming more prevalent and is now our future. We can reforest lands that have been stripped. We can regenerate soil that has been degraded to grow more-nutritious food. We can look at new economic indicators that take into account the health and wellbeing of the entire planet and all beings.

Systemic change, paradoxically, requires individual change, since economic structures are a product of our way of thinking, writes Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change.

We act as though we can extract resources boundlessly, use them inefficiently and then discard carelessly, taking more from the planet than it can regenerate and polluting more than we can clean up.

Natural scientists have provided abundant evidence that we have reached several planetary boundaries, beyond which Earth’s bio systems cannot sustain life. The climate crisis requires a total shift in our thinking. We need to understand ourselves to be deeply connected to all of nature if we are to survive and thrive. And in that lies our wealth.

January 5, 2022 - Climate change requires shared sacrifice

By John Kawamoto

For hundreds of thousands of years, we humans have been looking beyond our own selves to make sacrifices to improve the lives of our children.

Today, as a society, we can improve the lives of our children — and future generations — by making sacrifices that mitigate the effects of climate change. However, powerful interests that benefit financially from the burning of fossil fuels will try to convince us not to make those sacrifices.

The Earth is a Goldilocks planet that is not too hot and not too cold. A very small temperature range is just right to support human life.

For example, an increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature of only half a degree Celsius in the past 20 years has caused wildfires, storms, droughts, floods and heat waves to be more frequent and more extreme. When it comes to climate change, small global temperature differences have enormous effects.

Climate change is largely caused by greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas, and it stays in the atmosphere for 300 to 1,000 years, according to NASA. What we do now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will make the lives of our children better — as well as their children, and their children — for many generations to come.

We, as a society, are trying to control the emission of greenhouse gases. But much more needs to be done to keep Earth within the Goldilocks temperature range. In addition, we must realize that controlling climate change requires sacrifices.

A number of bills that mitigate climate change are expected to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session, including the following:

>> Carbon sequestration, which takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by, for example, planting trees and engaging in certain types of agricultural practices.

>> Climate Justice Action Plan to ensure an equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

>> Green constitutional amendment to create an individual right to a clean, healthy environment.

>> Visitor impact fee, which assesses a fee on tourists, with the revenue used for environmental purposes.

>> Carbon pricing to increase the tax on fossil fuels to discourage consumption. The various bills give some or all of the tax revenue back to people, which they can use for other expenses.

>> Decarbonizing electrical production and transportation, to shift these functions more quickly toward renewable energy sources.

THESE BILLS DESERVE to be passed, but the fossil fuel industry and its supporters are likely to oppose them. Any reduction in the burning of fossil fuels would reduce their collective bottom line, which they would rather maintain, even at the expense of the environment.

However, their public statements are more palatable. They say, for example, that legislation to mitigate climate change will be intrusive and pose difficulties for people.

They hope that we will ignore the disastrous future that would result from their arguments, which would raise the Earth’s temperature beyond the Goldilocks range.

Instead, we should remind ourselves that we are not doing it for ourselves. For hundreds of thousands of years, we humans have been willing to make sacrifices to improve the lives of our children.

Conditions have changed, but it is still true. We are willing to work to create a livable environment for our children and for future generations.

December 27, 2021 - Carbon prices help meet reduction pledge

by Bobbie Best

Both the bipartisan infrastructure bill, as well as the Build Back Better budget reconciliation bill not yet passed, include encouraging climate policy, but will only deliver roughly 35-45 percent carbon emission reductions below 2005 levels, failing to meet see you the 50 percent reduction promise that Biden pledged on Earth Day.That shortfall could be covered by implementing a corporate polluter fee, also known as a carbon price or a carbon fee.

A carbon price alone starting at $15 could reduce emissions 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

A carbon price becomes affordable for ordinary Americans when the money collected from corporate polluters is given as a dividend, or “carbon cash back” payment, to every American.

This protects low- and middle-income Americans who otherwise might not be able to afford the transition.

A new global poll conducted for the BBC World Service shows increased public support for a carbon tax on the types of energy that most cause climate change. Signing on were 91 members to cosponsor Rep. Ted Deutch’s carbon pricing bill, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 2307) which would deliver these mechanisms.

Our Hawaii senators and representatives would support this bill if it came to a vote.

A new paper published in “Nature” says climate action through carbon pricing and revenue recycling has benefits for poverty, inequality and well-being.

Taxation of carbon does not add to inflation but would offset higher energy costs per a paper from Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Fossil fuel cost is always going to be volatile, and the solution is to stop using them.

Bobbie Best

Wailuku

December 1, 2021 - Senate Needs To Put A Carbon Tax In Build Back Better

by Paul Bernstein

It's crucial to effectively mitigate global warming emissions, accelerate our transition to clean energy and pave the way for a livable world for our future generations.

It’s exciting to see Congress take meaningful action to better our country.

With the passage of the huge bipartisan infrastructure bill, America will make many long-overdue infrastructure improvements and put many more Americans to work. The bill also addresses climate change, providing billions of dollars for cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells, building a national network of charging stations for electric vehicles, improving our electricity grid and expanding clean energy and climate change accommodations.

Last week, Reps. Ed Case and Kai Kahele joined the rest of their Democratic colleagues in voting for the House’s version of the Build Back Better bill. This bill is now in the Senate. We praise the bill for allocating billions of dollars for clean energy incentives, removing tax loopholes for and increasing taxes on oil and gas companies, funding to retrofit homes and businesses to be more energy efficient, and introducing a methane fee to curb natural gas leaks. These measures complement those in the recently signed bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

Collectively, these bills are essential for us to begin to tackle climate change and build our country’s climate resilience. They, however, lack the single most environmentally effective policy —  a price on carbon. Without this policy, it is unlikely that the U.S. will achieve President Biden’s goal of a 50% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

Read the entire article here.

November 19, 2021 - Carbon Pricing a vital tool (The Garden Isle)

by Bobbie Best

The AP article in “The Garden Island” on Thursday, Nov. 11, on the sale of oil and gas leases by the U.S., is disturbing for those of us worried about the climate catastrophe.

There would be a much-greater impact from a carbon price as opposed to trying to come up with a policy about leasing.

Carbon pricing is a cost-effective, efficient way to reduce emissions and with cash back to residents, as supported by Senators Schatz, Deutsh and Whitehouse. The policy helps low- and middle- income families.

It will create jobs and save lives with cleaner air and water. Rep. Kai Kahele agrees, along with many economists and Janet Yellen. Rep. Ed Case is for carbon pricing, and Sen. Mazie Hirono, concerned with climate change, is a champion for economic justice. Carbon pricing is a vital tool we hope gains enough traction to prevail.

Bobbie Best - Wailuku

November 7, 2021 - Fight emissions with carbon tax, cash back (Honolulu Star Advertiser)

by Virginia Tincher

At present, the policies outlined in the reconciliation bill have the potential to deliver roughly 40% reductions in emissions below 2005 levels. Regulations and state-level policies may contribute to additional emission cuts, but we could still fall short of our emissions targets. A fee on corporate carbon pollution should be in the mix to reach our climate goals without any additional spending.

Modeling from Resources for the Future shows a carbon price alone, starting at $15, could reduce emissions 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.

The money from the fee could be returned to U.S. households as a “carbon cash back.” A carbon tax becomes affordable for ordinary Americans when the money collected from corporate polluters is given as a dividend, or “carbon cash back” payment, to every American. This protects low- and middle- income Americans who otherwise might not be able to afford the transition.

Virginia Tincher - Aina Haina

October 31, 2021 - Carbon fee effective tool to battle climate change

by Bobbie Best

An Oct. 21 Forbes article by Hersh Shefrin entitled “Hugely important moments of truth loom for carbon pricing policy: Bold leadership required now” argues that the U.S. must include a fee on carbon in line with its social costs.

At least 63 percent of Americans favor this. Its revenues can be distributed to households, protecting those with low incomes from the inevitable increase in fuel costs.

If included in the Reconciliation Bill, President Biden and John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, can attend the COP26 meeting with credibility. The U.S. would not be threatened by a border carbon adjustment that the European Union wants to impose. Even China has instituted carbon pricing.

Sen. Brian Schatz is on board, as is Rep. Kai Kahele. Sen. Mazie Hirono is concerned with fiscal justice, so should support this approach and Rep. Ed Case surely must care about this practical tool to ease our climate emergency. I hope that they, as well as our citizens, will ask President Biden to remember his campaign pledge to endorse carbon pricing, especially since a cash-back to residents will help everyone’s pocketbook.

This policy will engender more jobs, better health, cleaner reefs, etc. With the cost of floods, drought, trees and other creatures we are losing, we can’t afford to ignore this tool.

Bobbie Best - Wailuku

October 29, 2021 - Carbon pricing

by Bobbie Best

The Associated Press article in the Oct. 27 issue is enlightening and concerning.

It’s obvious that the climate crisis is upon us. One effective tool, agreed on by Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Kai Kahele, is carbon pricing with a cash back for residents.

This has fossil fuel emitters paying the cost of their activities. Then, when they raise their prices, residents will have the wherewithal to pay from the checks they receive, which helps the lower- and middle- income households the most. The results will be cleaner air and waters, lives saved, increased jobs in alternative energy, and more.

It is hoped that Sen. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Ed Case will get on board, as well, and that our president remember that he was for carbon pricing during his last campaign.

Bobbie Best - Wailuku, Maui

October 27, 2021 - Address climate change via carbon tax in deal

by Paul Bernstein

The New York Times article, “Biden meets with key Democrats on budget deal” (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 25), highlights the urgency for President Joe Biden to land on a package that meets the $2 trillion price tag and addresses climate change.

If Biden were to successfully push for a carbon tax that returned much of the dividends to households, he would win on the U.S. and international stage. This policy would meet his goal of 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, benefit lower-income households, have minimal impact on the budget, and return the U.S. to being a world leader on climate in advance of international negotiations.

In addition, if this policy included a border carbon adjustment, it would boost and protect U.S. companies, eliminating the risk of having exports impacted by carbon levies from the European Union and Canada, and protect U.S. products against imports. This policy already has the support of Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.

October 20, 2021 - Climate change bigger risk than COVID

By John Kawamoto

Comorbidities in the field of medicine describe the presence of two or more illnesses or diseases in the same person at the same time. Comorbidities are associated with health outcomes that are more severe, requiring treatment that is more complex.

Climate change and COVID-19 are both considered to be “wicked” problems because each consists of many independent factors that are in flux, making the search for a solution daunting. All of humanity is now faced with the comorbidities of climate change and COVID-19.

Climate change is already responsible for extreme weather that is increasing the severity of hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and heat waves in various parts of the world. These devastating events will become commonplace as time goes on.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 has infected 45 million people in the U.S. and 720,000 have died. In Hawaii the numbers are 82,000 infections and 850 deaths. These high numbers have arisen despite vigorous efforts to control it.

In the past 18 months, everyone has been impacted for the worse by COVID-19. People worry, and that worry often turns into depression. In the long term, it looks like we are going to have to learn to live with COVID.

COVID-19 has drawn much more attention than climate change because human beings are hardwired emotionally to attend to immediate perceived threats. We all feel the threat of COVID-19 because it is in our communities. But the full effect of climate change is still to come, and it will be much more devastating.

Climate change is largely the result of burning fossil fuels, which puts greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and warms the planet. The climate disasters that are now occurring are the result of the global average temperature warming by only 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Two more degrees of warming — for a total of 3 degrees — would result in horrifying hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and heat waves, a drop in food production, famine, the creation of hundreds of millions of climate refugees, and the spread of illnesses and diseases.

Even if countries meet the commitments they made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading toward a warming of more than 3 degrees.

We need a drastic transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy. However, fossil fuel companies are fighting against that transition — and they are winning.

At the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s consumption of fossil fuel declined. But that was only temporary. Consumption has since risen to nearly pre-COVID-19 levels, and Hawaii mirrors the global pattern. Fortunately, Hawaii has not experienced the extreme effects of climate change. But because we lack that experience, we are too indifferent, and we have taken too little action. Moreover, COVID-19 fatigue has created a kind of paralysis.

This is where leadership is critical. Our leaders must be passionate and courageous enough to make the drastic changes needed to avoid devastating future scenarios. These leaders exist, but not in sufficient numbers.

What we do in the next decade to control climate change will determine how livable the Earth will be in the subsequent decades.

Will we succeed in forging a transformation to healthy communities that thrive in healthy natural environments? Or will we fail? Our children and their children will find out.

September 24, 2021 - Fee for climate change in House reconciliation

by Bobbie Best

I appreciated the Maui News article about the House Reconciliation Bill progress, which was detailed and revealing.

It included questions about how the costs could be paid for and answers. Another answer is that the war in Afghanistan will free us from that expense.

I know that the party line on the right is that we can’t afford these costs, but our citizens really will benefit in so many ways, it is exciting to contemplate.

I must add that the climate-change measures need to include a carbon fee, and a cash-back or dividend to households to pay for the increased costs of this fee. Sen. Brian Schatz has a bill that includes this. Rep. Kai Kahele has co-sponsored the similar Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, and it is hoped that Rep. Ed Case and Sen. Mazie Hirono will also get on board as well, since they are also concerned about the climate crisis and need to learn why a carbon fee is necessary and endorsed by so many economists.

September 5, 2021 - Climate change happening fast, 4 years to act

by Laurel Brier

The internationally accepted authority on the climate crisis is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC includes scientists from 195 countries who do a systematic review of all relevant published literature to provide a comprehensive update on climate change, its effects and potential strategies.

In August, the physical science working group of the IPCC released its report, the sixth assessment since 1988. It will help guide decisions and policies set at the next international Climate Summit to be held in November in Glasgow, Scotland.

The lengthy assessment of more than 14,000 peer-reviewed studies gives irrefutable evidence that climate change is happening now, human activities are the unequivocal cause, it’s happening faster than expected, we have only about four years to take significant action, and we still have a choice.

[…]

Presently, the single-most important opportunity the U.S. has for meaningful climate action is before our members of Congress in the form of the Reconciliation Bill.

It is the most-significant legislation in decades, and would help transition workers from fossil-fuel jobs to green jobs, develop green infrastructure and fight the climate crisis.

President Biden has also asked Congress to include the cancellation of fossil-fuel subsidies, about $15 billion annually, into the Reconciliation Bill. In addition to fighting the climate crisis, the reconciliation package invests in health care, elder care, child care, education, food security and infrastructure that the American public strongly supports. Now is the time for bold leadership, not “moderate” inaction.

More…

August 4, 2021 - Carbon pricing positive way to reduce greenhouse gases

by Jeff Stark

Back in the early days of the environment movement, we could hold a local chapter meeting of most organizations in a phone booth. Environmentalists were widely ridiculed as “tree huggers” and environmental initiatives were routinely ignored and allowed to quietly go away without any significant action.

That was then. This is now, and things have changed. Both the environmental community and the environmental condition have grown in size, scope and influence. Perhaps the best example is the environmental energy that is coalescing around the positive strategy known as “carbon pricing.”

Carbon pricing proposes to charge large industrial and institutional users of carbon-based fuels — gasoline, diesel, coal, oil, natural gas — which will go directly into a trust. Then, on a regular schedule, the funds generated by the fee will be distributed to every American with a Social Security number. Thus, the rise in prices for carbon-intensive products and services, which almost certainly will be added to the price of the affected products, will be lifted from the backs of consumers who will be made whole.

Other countries have already created their own versions, and more are in the process. Most environmental organizations and individuals are also in support.

Experts have endorsed the finding that adoption of the carbon pricing legislation now under consideration by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives will result in a reduction in U.S. greenhouse gases of 40 percent in the first 12 years.

Go to www.cclhawaii.org published by Citizens Climate Lobby, a leader in the carbon pricing movement.

Jeff Stark - Kahului

August 3, 2021 - Hawaii Delegate Shows Climate Leadership On the Hill

by Paul Bernstein, Noel Morin, Molly Whiteley

Climate action advocates have much to celebrate with the news that U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele has co-sponsored H.R. 2307 — the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. His sponsorship will help pave the way for the passage of carbon pricing legislation in the U.S.

This bill puts in place a gradually increasing price on carbon, a dividend that will benefit U.S. households, and a carbon border adjustment to protect local industries from lower-cost, high-carbon products imported into the U.S. from countries without a carbon price.

The gradually increasing price will provide businesses with predictability around which they can plan. At the same time, the revenue will fund dividend payments to households to mitigate the expected cost increases for high-carbon products.

More…

July 23, 2021 - Doing nothing about climate change will cause more harm (West Hawaii Today)

by Susan Gorman-Chang Ewa Beach, Oahu

July 9, 2021 - Electric vehicles could significantly reduce CO2 emissions by 2050 (The Garden Isle)

Contributor: Noel Morin

Noel Morin, president of the Hawai‘i Electric Vehicle Association, said McKenzie’s findings confirm the merits of electric vehicles in helping the state reduce emissions and Hawai‘i’s fossil-fuel dependency and how their efficiency advantages will contribute to pocketbook savings for the community.

“We have a long way to go before we can fully decarbonize,” Morin said.

“I think the progress towards electrification of transportation will continue to accelerate as a result of several converging factors — increasing affordability of long-range EVs; automakers announcing plans to stop the production of gas vehicles and introducing electric trucks and vans; and the passage of laws encouraging adoption of EVs and expansion of public charging infrastructure.”

Morin concluded, “Of course, the challenge is that we must target decarbonization of our energy and transportation much sooner than 2050. The consequences of global warming are with us today, and are becoming increasingly disastrous and deadly,” he said. “We must act with urgency.”

View full article here.

More media contributions.