A price on pollution will benefit the climate, people, and the economy.

CCL’s preferred climate change solution is to put a price on carbon pollution and allocate the proceeds directly to Americans via a monthly dividend check, to spend as they see fit. Since 2009, CCL has been advocating for this policy under the name “Carbon Fee and Dividend”. In 2018, the bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act was introduced into both chambers of Congress. The bill (H.R. 763) has been reintroduced into the House of Representatives in 2019. CCL supports this bill, and is working towards its re-introduction in the Senate, and its passage through Congress.

This policy would place a predictable, steadily-rising price on carbon and other greenhouse gases. All fees collected, minus administrative costs, are allocated in equal shares to all Americans in the form of a monthly dividend check. In just 12 years such a system would reduce carbon emissions by at least 40%. Studies show it would also add 2.1 million jobs to the American economy.

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CCL empowers everyday people to work with their community and their members of Congress on climate change solutions.

The case for climate solutions

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, our burning of fossil fuels has steadily increased the carbon dioxide content of Earth’s atmosphere. For many decades, we enjoyed the benefits of such fuels without realizing that the increased atmospheric carbon was trapping heat and hastening global climate change.

Today, we understand that climate change carries potentially catastrophic health, environmental, and economic costs. Nevertheless, in most places, there is no financial penalty for adding to the carbon pollution that drives climate change. As long as carbon pollution remains free, the true costs of fossil fuels will be hidden and may appear cheaper than low-carbon alternatives even as they put the long-term health and economic prosperity at risk.