By Eric Brattstrom
Here in Vermont all fossil fuels are an out-of-state natural resource. A very small percent of the money we spend on them stays in state. In order keep most of those dollars in Vermont, while at the same time doing our part to fight carbon pollution, town energy committees are actively supporting innovative state programs and new legislative actions. But there are no easy solutions; out-of-pocket costs are real and the environmental costs are deadly.
Fossil fuel is the opiate of all of us and that habit is hard to kick. They do so much for us and so cheaply and until recently they didn’t seem to be doing any real harm. Extreme events and species loss (to name a few) are teaching us otherwise and the learning curve we are on is getting steeper and steeper.
Putting a price on carbon pollution is a tool that can help us reverse that trajectory. And pricing carbon is not a new concept. Sweden has been doing it since the 1990s and the Canadian province of British Columbia has had what they call a “fee and dividend” since 2008.
It is a very successful policy that has helped provide a financial incentive for the biggest polluters to cut their carbon emissions. British Columbia (BC) calls it a fee and dividend because the fee is returned to residents and businesses in the form of tax cuts and rebates or dividends. BC also made sure to shield lower income people and prevent this policy from becoming regressive. The facts are out there. One can Google “British Columbia - carbon tax” to read the full story.
The example of British Columbia is not necessarily a perfect fit for Vermont but they have proved that a sub-national government can effectively put a price on carbon pollution while improving the local economy. BC now has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in Canada. Moreover, this policy has been incredibly popular and the BC legislators who supported the measure have been re-elected several times.
For more information on what pricing carbon could look like in Vermont, see the REMI
(Regional Economic Models, Inc.) report which can be found on the website of Energy Independent Vermont along with many other resources regarding the need to act on climate change by putting a price on the pollution that is causing it: www.energyindependentvt.org.
Brattstrom serves on Warren Energy Committee.
