Our own Sen. Mitt Romney took to the airwaves last month supporting a solution to the climate challenge called carbon pricing. That generated some interest and intrigue, and it revealed some misunderstandings about how such a plan would work.
It’s important to set the record straight.
Carbon pricing is lightyears away from the top-down approach we’ve used on climate in the past. For nearly a half century, Democrat’s have used the EPA as a hammer to deter emissions. This has been a slow, ineffective process and burdensome on the economy.
Instead, a carbon price would put innovators and entrepreneurs in the driver’s seat of lowering emissions. By swapping regulations for a low price on carbon pollution, we would give companies an incentive to innovate lower-emitting ways to produce the same goods. This flexible approach costs less (for businesses and taxpayers), and it would cut emissions by spurring innovation in ways EPA regulators never could.
I’m glad Romney is offering concrete alternatives to Democrats on this issue. America needs it.
Andrew Sandstrom
Ogden