Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg)  Strategy cheered by economists who served last six presidents; Endorsement could give boost to carbon tax-and-dividend plan  —  An all-star lineup of economists, from Alan Greenspan to Paul Volcker, is endorsing a plan to combat climate change by slapping a tax on greenhouse gas emissions and then distributing the revenue to American households.

All living former Federal Reserve chairs, several Nobel Prize winners and previous leaders of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers have signed on to a statement asserting that a robust, gradually rising carbon tax is “the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary.”

“A carbon tax will send a powerful price signal that harnesses the invisible hand of the marketplace to steer economic actors towards a low-carbon future,” the 45 economists say in the opinion piece, published by the Wall Street Journal late Wednesday.

…

The economists’ endorsement could deliver momentum to a carbon tax-and-dividend plan devised by two former secretaries of state — James Baker and George P. Shultz — that has already drawn financial support from Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Exelon Corp.

…

The economists’ statement includes proclamations that could have broad appeal to Republicans. For instance, the group highlights the importance of keeping the tax “revenue neutral” by giving rebates to all Americans, a tactic the economists say will “avoid debates over the size of government.” They also tout the promise that by replacing inefficient “cumbersome regulations” with a carbon tax, the government can “promote economic growth and provide the regulatory certainty companies need for long-term investment in clean-energy alternatives.”

…

Many economists have favored a carbon tax as the most effective strategy for discouraging greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. But the economists now are going further by stressing that the revenue should be rebated to citizens, instead of being used to reduce the deficit, fund government or pare income taxes.

…

That approach is key to ensuring it is a progressive tax that ends up helping the poor, instead of just hiking their energy bills. The premise is that periodic dividend checks could more than make up for the hike in costs for poor- and middle-income Americans.   READ MORE

It’s Time for a Non-Renewable Carbon User Fee for Fuels (Advanced Biofuels USA)

Updated Non-Renewable Carbon User Fee for Fuels (Disappearing Gas Tax) Jan 2019 (Advanced Biofuels USA)

Economists’ Statement on Carbon Dividends: Bipartisan agreement on how to combat climate change. (Wall Street Journal)

Former Federal Reserve chairs, economists, back carbon tax (The Hill)

Excerpt from The Hill:  Four former Federal Reserve chairs from both parties joined with a group of leading economists in endorsing a plan to tax carbon dioxide emissions and return the funds to taxpayers.

Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, along with dozens of former chairmen of the Council of Economic Advisers and Nobel Laureate economists, signed on to an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday evening laying out principles for a carbon “dividend” plan that they would support. READ MORE