House Republicans have started putting together a legislative package to counter climate change, a sign that their voters are increasingly concerned about the problem and want to see the party take action.
“Trees, plastics and favorable tax policy are at the core of House Republicans’ new push,” Amy Harder wrote in an Axios post. Arkansas Congressman Bruce Westerman is working on legislation, called the Trillion Trees Act, that would, among other things, create a national target for increasing the number of trees grown in the U.S. “for the purpose of sequestering carbon,” according to a summary of the bill viewed by Axios. The party will be working on the legislation into the spring.
However, any eventual plan would not set any targets for reducing carbon pollution, reported Rebecca Beitsch in The Hill. House Democrats recently outlined a plan requiring the U.S. to rely on 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
Coordinating the GOP proposals, which will be fleshed out in coming months, is Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, the top Republican in the House. “Republicans are doubling down on a small-government agenda,” Harder wrote. “They’re eschewing carbon pricing, and they're criticizing the far more aggressive and sweeping policies pushed by some Democrats as ineffective and harmful to America’s economy.”
House Republicans have convinced their most conservative members to support the plan, The Washington Examiner’s Josh Siegel reported. “Climate denial is a bad political strategy,” said Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and of the House Climate Solutions Caucus. “At some point, you have to be for something to fix it.”
The lawmakers want to make permanent and expand the 45Q tax credit that is available to companies sequestering CO2, with a new component emphasizing the importance of capturing carbon from the sky long after it was emitted.
To speed up the development of clean energy, the GOP proposes doubling federal investment in basic research and fundamental science from $16 billion to $32 billion over 10 years. Leading that effort is Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, the top Republican on the House Science and Technology Committee. He rejects the idea that Washington should pass a carbon tax as a “stick” to push clean-energy technologies, as opposed to continuing to rely on “carrot” policies incentivizing new tech, Harder reported.
House Republicans also want to provide lower tax rates for U.S. companies exporting clean energy technology. “One of the top priorities,” Politico reported, “will be ‘promotion of cleaner, more efficient fossil fuels to meet global demand,’ according to slides presented to a closed-door GOP Conference meeting last week.”
They want to promote the use of natural gas and nuclear power, and they see potential in agriculture, pushing for farming techniques that reduce or capture carbon.
A number of Republicans, including GOP icons such as James Baker and George Shultz, are taking a different tack. They have come together under the banner of a group called the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) to promote what they consider a proposal that is based on long-time Republican principles. It is simple: Put a price on fossil fuel emissions and give all the revenue back to the American people.
Recently, Shultz and Ted Halstead, the CLC’s CEO, issued a report listing 12 reasons why its leaders believe an economy-wide fee on carbon emissions outperforms two other options: a regulatory scheme or subsides. These 12, the report says, “demonstrate the overwhelming economic, environmental and political superiority of carbon pricing as the cornerstone of America’s climate policy. While complementary policies will always be needed, pricing should be the primary driver.”
Democrats have been busy, too. On January 28 the majority staff of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce released a discussion draft of the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act. The draft legislative text can be found here, along with a section-by-section overview here. Among its provisions:
New requirements for EPA to set emissions standards for cars, trucks, locomotive and aircraft engines;
EPA must issue new rules delivering 90 percent reduction of methane emissions from oil and gas sources below 2012 levels by 2030; and
Each state must develop its own plan for reaching net-zero emissions.
In addition, Democrats in the House have just introduced an ambitious five-year infrastructure plan with a major focus on climate. House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio of Oregon said the plan will be a radical departure from previous highway-focused transportation bills. Instead, the proposal will put clean energy and climate "resilience" at the center. "We're looking at every sector under my jurisdiction and attempting to meet the goals of the Green New Deal," he told reporters.