Loading...
SR 10-25-2016 13C 13.C October 25, 2016 Council Meeting: October 25, 2016 Santa Monica, California 1 of 1 CITY CLERK’S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM To: Mayor and City Council From: Denise Anderson -Warren, City Clerk , Records & Elections Services Department Date : October 25, 2016 13.C Request of Councilmembers McKeown, Himmelrich, and O'Day that, in keeping with the City’s long commitment to the environment and sustainability, the Council join the California Legislature and our Congressman Ted Lieu in supporting the concept of a Carbon Fee and Dividend to tax the CO2 equivalent of fossil fuels at the source and r efund the proceeds to resident households. 10/18/16, 11(00 AM Bill Text - AJR-43 Greenhouse gases: climate change. Page 1 of 3 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AJR43 AJR-43 Greenhouse gases: climate change.(2015-2016) Assembly Joint Resolution No. 43 CHAPTER 168 Relative to greenhouse gases. [ Filed with Secretary of State September 01, 2016. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AJR 43, Williams. Greenhouse gases: climate change. This measure would urge the United States Congress to enact a tax on carbon-based fossil fuels. Fiscal Committee: no WHEREAS, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated in its recently released 5th Assessment Report, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, that “[w]arming of the climate system is unequivocal” and “[i]t is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century”; and WHEREAS, In May of 2013, the global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide reached 400 parts per million, the highest level in the last 800,000 years; and WHEREAS, In May 2014, two separate scientific papers were published in journals of Geophysical Research Letters documenting dramatic retreats of Antarctic glaciers and predicting that large-scale destruction of the West Antarctic ice sheets is likely now inevitable and will lead to sea level rises of 10 feet or more; and WHEREAS, The 2013 Indicators of Climate Change in California, released by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, found that continued warming of the atmosphere would cause threats of flooding along the coastline of California; threats to infrastructure, sewage systems, wetlands, and marine life; increased ocean acidification; increased threats from wildfires; threats to the water supply from decreased snow packs; increased asthma and respiratory illness due to higher ozone levels; increased insurance and mitigation costs; and negative impacts to the agriculture, fishing, and tourism industries; and WHEREAS, Conservative estimates by climate scientists throughout the world state that, to achieve climate stabilization and avoid cataclysmic climate change, emissions of greenhouse gases must be brought to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050; and WHEREAS, The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code) commits the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and the Governor’s Executive Order S-3-05 further calls on the state to establish a policy to reduce 10/18/16, 11(00 AM Bill Text - AJR-43 Greenhouse gases: climate change. Page 2 of 3 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AJR43 greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050; and WHEREAS, The California Global Warming Solution Act of 2006 has reached its 10-year anniversary and the California economy remains strong; and WHEREAS, The United States needs powerful new policies to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals established in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement; and WHEREAS, The United States Congress can enact a national carbon tax on fossil fuels, based on the amount of carbon dioxide the fuel will emit when burned; and WHEREAS, For efficient administration, fossil fuels can be taxed once, as far upstream in the economy as practical, or at the port of entry into the United States; and WHEREAS, A national, revenue-neutral carbon tax starting at a relatively low rate and increasing steadily over future years is a market-based solution that would minimally disrupt the economy while sending a clear and predictable price signal to businesses to develop and use noncarbon-based energy resources; and WHEREAS, Citizens’ Climate Education Corporation Commissioned Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) to do a nation-wide macroeconomic study on the impact of a revenue-neutral carbon tax; and WHEREAS, REMI’s study predicted that, after 10 years, a revenue-neutral carbon tax would lead to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions by 33 percent, an increase in national employment by 2.1 million jobs, and an average monthly dividend for a family of four of $288; and WHEREAS, Border adjustments, such as carbon-content-based tariffs on products imported from countries without comparable carbon pricing and refunds to our exporters of carbon taxes paid can maintain the competitiveness of United States businesses in global markets; and WHEREAS, A national carbon tax can be implemented quickly and efficiently, and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis, because the federal government already has in place mechanisms, such as the Internal Revenue Service, needed to implement and enforce the tax and already collects taxes from fossil fuel producers and importers; and WHEREAS, A national carbon tax would make the United States a leader in mitigating climate change and the advancing clean energy technologies of the 21st Century, and would incentivize other countries to enact similar carbon taxes, thereby reducing global carbon dioxide emissions without the need for complex international agreements; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby urges the United States Congress to enact, without delay, a tax on carbon-based fossil fuels; and be it further Resolved, That the tax should be collected once, as far upstream in the economy as practical, or at the port of entry into the United States; and, be it further Resolved, That the tax rate should start low and increase steadily and predictably to achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the United States to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050; and be it further Resolved, That all tax revenue should be returned to middle- and low-income Americans to protect them from the impact of rising prices due to the tax; and, be it further Resolved, That the international competitiveness of United States businesses should be protected by using carbon-content-based tariffs and tax refunds; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the 10/18/16, 11(00 AM Bill Text - AJR-43 Greenhouse gases: climate change. Page 3 of 3 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AJR43 Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution. 10/18/16, 10(55 AM The Basics of Carbon Fee and Dividend Page 1 of 5 http://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ How Carbon Fee and Dividend Works 1. Place a steadily rising fee on fossil fuels To account for the cost of burning fossil fuels, we propose an initial fee of $15/ton on the CO equivalent emissions of fossil fuels, escalating $10/ton/year, imposed upstream at the mine, well or port of entry. Accounting for the true cost of fossil fuel emissions not only creates a level-playing field for all sources of energy, but also informs consumers of the true cost comparison of various fuels when making purchase decisions. This process chart shows the basics of calculating a carbon fee that’s passed down the energy supply chain from the point of extraction to the retail and end-use consumers. Chemistry determines the carbon dioxide or equivalent emissions of a fuel, which becomes part of its price within a transaction to discourage its use and garner revenues for a rebate (dividend). 2. Give 100% of the fees minus administrative costs back to households each month. 100% of the net fees from the carbon fee are held in a Carbon Fees Trust fund and returned directly to households as a monthly dividend. 2 ! 10/18/16, 10(55 AM The Basics of Carbon Fee and Dividend Page 2 of 5 http://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ About two-thirds of households will break even or receive more than they would pay in higher prices. This feature will inject billions into the economy, protect family budgets, free households to make independent choices about their energy usage, spur innovation and build aggregate demand for low-carbon products at the consumer level. Monthly projected share of the monthly carbon fee revenue across American households. 3. Use a border adjustment to stop business relocation. Import fees on products imported from countries without a carbon fee, along with rebates to US industries exporting to those countries , will discourage businesses from relocating where they can emit more CO and motivate other countries to adopt similar carbon pricing policies. Building upon existing tax and trade systems will avoid complex new institutional arrangements. Firms seeking to escape higher energy costs will be discouraged from relocating to non-compliant nations (“leakage”), as their products will be subject to import fees. It’s good for the economy AND even better for people. 2 10/18/16, 10(55 AM The Basics of Carbon Fee and Dividend Page 3 of 5 http://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ Each color in this chart represents one of the nine US regions. PAC=Pacific, MNT=Mountain, WSC=West South Central, ESC=East South Central, SA=South Atlantic, WNC=West North Central, ENC=East North Central, MA=Mid Atlantic, NE=New England. A study from REMI shows that carbon fee-and-dividend will reduce CO2 emissions 52% below 1990 levels in 20 years and that recycling the revenue creates an economic stimulus that adds 2.8 million jobs to the economy. A structured rising price on greenhouse gas emissions will focus business planning on optimizing investment priorities to thrive in a carbon-constrained world. Additionally, Carbon Fee and Dividend is projected to prevent over 230,000 premature deaths over 20 years from improved air quality. Carbon Fee and Dividend does not increase the size of government, require new bureaucracies or directly increase government revenues. The dividend increases real disposable income, protects personal spending decisions and will recruit widespread, sustained engagement. Finally, Carbon Fee and Dividend is elegant in its simplicity, transparent in its accessibility to public scrutiny and clear in its signals and benefits. 10/18/16, 10(55 AM The Basics of Carbon Fee and Dividend Page 4 of 5 http://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ Two-minute Carbon Fee and Dividend video ∠ ∠ ∠ ∠ ∠ ∠ ∠ The Basics The Policy and FAQs Why Carbon Fee and Dividend? Two-minute Video REMI Report (Environmental and Economic Benefits) Household Impact Study Supporters Carbon Fee and Dividend Menu "Risks from climate change are real, and a policy of 10/18/16, 10(55 AM The Basics of Carbon Fee and Dividend Page 5 of 5 http://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ ©2016 Citizens' Climate Lobby ignoring those risks and hoping for the best is inconsistent with risk management practices conservatives embrace in other, non- climate contexts." Jerry Taylor President, Niskanen Center