Though Congress has failed, once again, to deliver national climate legislation, the issue simply will not go away. As Russia burns, Pakistan drowns, and law makers inside the Beltway melt from one of the hottest summers on record, the urgency of the climate crisis mounts in the public’s eye. If the recent suite of Congressional proposals to cap carbon emissions are essentially sunk, and if Congress is headed back to the drawing board, we need to avoid some of the predictable pitfalls and deliver a bill that the majority of Americans can support.
In a recent paper for E3 Network, Elizabeth A. Stanton and Frank Ackerman present the seven key questions that the public should ask about any proposed climate legislation. The answers to these questions will determine whether the proposed legislation will be successful in reducing emissions and how it will impact households.
The seven key questions are:
1. Are the emissions targets low enough to do the job?
2. Will price ceilings interfere with emission reductions?
3. Will a significant share of revenues be rebated to households?
4. Are emission permits given away?
5. Are large-scale investments made in energy efficiency?
6. Is there a strategy for retiring coal plants?
7. Is green investment directed toward the states most affected by climate policy?
We will tackle each of these seven questions in detail in the weeks to come.
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