KENNEBEC JOURNAL • January 29, 2023
Barbara Alexander favors progressive taxes over carbon pricing to fund infrastructure and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Not a bad idea but there’s a better one: Carbon pricing with dividends, often called carbon cashback pricing. It is on the way. Carbon cashback pricing narrowly missed passage last year in Congress. At least 45 countries now use carbon pricing in some form. Soon the U.S. will be subject to fees on our exports to Europe unless we institute our own carbon price. This policy is not a silver bullet but its many advantages, especially its protections for the most economically vulnerable, make it an essential component for any plan that aims to mitigate climate change. ~ Bonnie Sammons, Belgrade