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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - 85BEw 5/21/2019 DRAFT A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 763, THE ENERGY AND CARBON DIVIDEND ACT OF 2019, WHICH AIMS TO REDUCE U.S. CARBON POLLUTION BY 33 PERCENT IN 10 YEARS BELOW 2015 LEVELS Date of Name Correspondence 1 5121/2019 Virginia Bernal *RA - Recornmended Action Representative of Citizens Climate Lobby CA OC North Central Chapter In Favor In Opposition Comment of RA*. of RA.* Yes 1 TOTAL: 1 Tuesday, May 21, 2019 Page 1 of 1 Orozco, Norma From: Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2019 6:58 AM To: eComment Cc: ' Subject: Submitting comments to City Council this evening Attachments: HR 763 fact sheet.pdf; Economists Statement on Carbon Dividends- 1-17-19.pdf; Yale - Climate -Opinions - CA46.pdf; Dividends -Local economic stimulus.docx Norma Mitre, Acting Clerk of the Council, We constituents, members of the local chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby, wish to speak our comments on agenda item 85B. We would appreciate being called to speak consecutively. • Virginia Bernal, myself • Suman Bhasin • Kayleigh Levitt Below my note are my comments, which I plan to deliver this evening. We wish to present the four attached one -page documents to the Council. Shall we bring paper copies of these? Or do you prefer to copy and distribute ahead to the members? • H.R. 763 Fact sheet • Climate opinions —Yale Project on Climate Change Communication • Economists' Statement on Carbon Dividends • The Dividend —Local economic stimulus Thank you. Virginia Bernal We address our comments to agenda item 85B that the council is considering tonight. We request that the council seriously consider a city resolution asking that our US Congress pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, H.R. 763. Santa Ana's climate action plan of 2015 is evidence of the city council's vision, yet its full implementation has been difficult to fund. Federal enactment of H.R. 763 would ease the city's task. As important as local action is, we still need national action because climate change is a global phenomenon. I have been a resident of Santa Ana 41 years, where I have raised my two sons. I now have three grandchildren. I am an immigrant and naturalized citizen. The future climate extremes and consequent social disruption for our young people concerns me very much, as does that of our country and of my countries of origin. We are already experiencing unusual and extreme weather events. Our own climate experts and those of the Inter -governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn us of increasing and catastrophic risk if we do not reduce our emissions to net zero by 2050. Economists of the highest caliber recommend a policy of carbon fee and dividend as the most effective to reduce GHG emissions. Over a hundred municipalities around the country passed resolutions asking Congress to transition our country to clean energy via this policy which is now incorporated in the Energy Innovation Act. Even our California legislators did so in 2016, with Assembly Joint Resolution No. 43—Relative to greenhouse gases. 0 We are asking that our city resolve to support passage of the Energy Innovation Act —add our city's pressure on Congress to act, that this policy become law. Also consider what the dividend means for our local economy. Our city will benefit in that the dividend will be a significant economic stimulus for the city. Virginia Bernal Citizens Climate Lobbv CA OC North Central Chapter 714-878-5099 Climate action can be a pmverful antidote to grief over our environment. It can restore energy and banish fear. Together, activists rea%firm mastery of our fate. Pricing carbon is the best accelerator of the many needed solutions to climate change, and carbon fee and dividend is the most efficient and socially just way to price carbon. We support the bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act re- introduced in the House in January 2019. x,. 7 The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act will drive down America's carbon pollution and bring climate change under control, while unleashing American technology innovation and ingenuity. It's: Effective This policy will reduce America's emissions by at least 40% in the first 12 years. It's supported by economists and scientists as simple, comprehensive, and effective. Good for people o This policy will improve health and save lives by reducing pollution thatAmericans breathe. Additionally, the carbon dividend puts money directly into people's pockets every month to spend as they see fit, helping low and middle income Americans. Good for the economy Will create 2.1 million newjobs, thanks to economic growth in local communities across America. Bipartisan Republicans and Democrats are both on board, cosponsoring this bill together. The majority of Americans support Congress taking action on climate change, including more than half of Republicans. Solving climate change is too urgent to get caught up in partisan politics. Revenue Neutral �\ f� The fees collected on carbon emissions will be allocated to all Americans to spend any way they choose. The government will not keep any of the fees collected, so the size of the government will not grow. Sources for statistics available at: energyinnovationact.org/data-sources How it Works ©Carbon Fee This policy puts a fee on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. It starts low, and grows over time. ®Carbon Dividend The money collected from the carbon fee is allocated in equal shares every month to the American people to spend as they see fit. ®Border Carbon Adjustment To protect U.S. manufacturers and jobs, imported goods will pay a border carbon adjustment, and goods exported from the United States will receive a refund under this policy. ORegulatory Adjustment This policy preserves effective current regulations, like auto mileage standards, but pauses the EPA authority to regulate the CO2 and equivalent emissions covered by the fee, for the first 10 years after the policy is enacted. If emission targets are not being met after 10 years, Congress gives clear direction to the EPA to regulate those emissions to meet those targets. The pause does not impact EPA regulations related to water quality, air quality, health or other issues. This policy's price on pollution will lower carbon emissions far more than existing and pending EPA regulations. See Sponsors List & Learn More Go to energyinnovationact.org to learn more about the Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act. Support the Bill Go to cclusa.org/energy-innovation-actto contact your Congressional Representative (L Citizens' Climate Lobby Americans Support Action on Climate Opinions from California - District 46 100% 80% 75% 60% 40% 20% 8% 18% 0% Global warming is happening 60% 28% 12% Global warming is caused by humans 67% ■ Yes 33% No Don't Know 0% Worried about global warming Estimated public opinions for this district/state are based on national polling and modeling from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication: http://Cclusa.org/yalemaps National Opinions More than 60% of Trump voters support taxing and/or regulating global warming pollution Do Neither Don't Know 16% ja Do Neither 21% Don't Know a Regulate ■ Tax and Regulate ■ Tax Tax / and/or Regulate 62% Regulate 18% Tax and Regulate 31 % Tax 13% More than half of Republicans, and over two-thirds of moderate Republicans support a Carbon Tax ■ Support a Carbon Tax Do Not Support Democrats Independents All Republicans Conservative Republican Moderate Republican 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% National Opinions from Yale Project on Climate Change Communication: cclusa.org/yale17 and cclusa.org/yale2018 Prepared by Citizens' Climate Lobby - www.citizensclimateiabby.org - 2018 Economists 'Statement on Carbon Dividends WSJ 1.17_19 Bipartisan agreement on how to combat climate change. 235 Comments Jan. 16, 2019 6:55 p.m. ET Global climate change is a serious problem calling for immediate national action. Guided by sound economic principles, we are united in the following policy recommendations. I. A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary. By correcting a well-known market failure, a carbon tax will send a powerful price signal that harnesses the invisible hand of the marketplace to steer economic actors towards a low -carbon future. I1. A carbon tax should increase every year until emissions reductions goals are met and be revenue neutral to avoid debates over the size of government. A consistently rising carbon price will encourage technological innovation and large-scale infrastructure development. It will also accelerate the diffusion of carbon -efficient goods and services. I11. A sufficiently robust and gradually rising carbon tax will replace the need for various carbon regulations that are less efficient. Substituting a price signal for cumbersome regulations will promote economic growth and provide the regulatory certainty companies need for long- term investment in clean -energy alternatives. 1V. To prevent carbon leakage and to protect U.S. competitiveness, a border carbon adjustment system should be established. This system would enhance the competitiveness of American firms that are more energy -efficient than their global competitors. It would also create an incentive for other nations to adopt similar carbon pricing. V. To maximize the fairness and political viability of a rising carbon tax, all the revenue should be returned directly to U.S, citizens through equal lump -sum rebates. The majority of American families, including the most vulnerable, will benefit financially by receiving more in "carbon dividends" than they pay in increased energy prices. George Akerlof Robert Aumann, Angus Denton, Peter Diamond, Robert Engle, Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen, Oliver Hart, Bengt Holmstrom, Daniel Kahneman, Finn Kydland, Robert Lucas, Eric Maskin, Daniel McFadden, Robert Merton, Roger Myerson, Edmund Phelps, Alvin Roth, Thomas Sargent, Myron Scholes, Amartya Sen, William Sharpe, Robert Shiller, Christopher Sims, Robert Solow, Michael Spence and Richard Thaler are recipients of'the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences'. Paul Volcker is a former Federal Reserve chairman. Martin Baily, Michael Boskin, Martin Feldstein, Jason Furman, Austan Goolsbee, Glenn Hubbard, Alan Krueger, Edward Lazear, N. Gregory Mankiw, Christina Romer, Harvey Rosen and Laura Tyson are former, chairmen of the president's Council of Economic' Advisers. Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan and Janet Yellen have chaired both the Fed and the Council of Economic Advisers. George Shultz and Lawrence Summers are former Treasury secretaries. More information is available at www.cleouncil.org. The Dividend — a significant economic stimulus for our city 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Dividend Calculated for Each Year of Policy's Duration Years 2020 to 2053 (gap is 2050, IPCC significant year) Policy would end in 2053 when dividend is below $20/month for 3 years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 I9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 —Annual adult dividend, 2018$ —Family of 4 annual dividend, 2018$ Source: CCL's Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act Dataset (Version 116) Consider Santa Ana's families receiving dividends which they will spend as they please. It will be an economic stimulus of millions of dollars. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, H.R. 763, will reduce GHG emissions as needed for our nation to do its share to limit global temp rise to 1.5o C, as encouraged by the IPCC.