House Dems, swimming upstream, push carbon tax

Nine liberal House Democrats are floating legislation to impose a carbon tax on fossil-fuel producers and importers, a measure they say would cut the deficit by a half-trillion dollars and steer $2 trillion to consumers over a decade.

Some climate analysts say a carbon tax on production of oil, coal and other fossil fuels is a simpler and more efficient way to stem greenhouse gas emissions than cap-and-trade systems.

But tax proposals likely face even longer political odds than cap-and-trade legislation, which collapsed on Capitol Hill last year.

Nonetheless, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the bill’s lead sponsor, said the tax plan is a vital way to help avert dangerous warming. The bill, which begins with a tax of $10 per ton of carbon dioxide and goes up from there, is aimed at cutting U.S. emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels over several decades.

“We have a moral obligation to act to prevent catastrophic climate change and preserve our planet for future generations,” said Stark, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, in a statement. “The Save Our Climate Act is a first step toward meeting that obligation and creating a sensible tax code that incentivizes innovation, reduces the deficit and protects families from rising energy costs.”

Co-sponsors include Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Jim Moran (D-Va.), Bob Filner (D-Calif.) and five others.

The bill drew cheers from groups that promote carbon taxes.

“We’re running out of time to wean our nation off the fossil fuels that are heating up the planet,” said Citizens Climate Lobby Executive Director Mark Reynolds in a statement. “We need to put a price on carbon that shifts energy usage to clean sources, and that’s what Congressman Stark’s bill does.”