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| Fig. 1: Global mean sea level variation since 1993. (Source: J. A Zamora Zeledon, after Nerem et al. [4]) |
The U.S. government should do everything in its power to support and uphold the pledge made in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that anthropogenic climate change is real and that its main driver is the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, especially of carbon dioxide, by humans. [1] The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already over 400 ppm, and emissions are only increasing. [1] This human-caused climate change is guilty of many environmental problems, including ocean acidification, global warming, sea level rise, destruction of ecosystems, etc. These problems affect everyone in the planet, including the United States. For instance, the sea level has been rising for decades (Fig. 1) and coastal cities will be strongly affected as the rising continues. Climate data shows that the rate of extreme weather events, such as extreme high temperatures and hurricanes, in the U.S. has increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution. [1] It is clear that we already have to deal with the environmental problems caused by past greenhouse gas emissions, but now it is imperative that we as a nation come together and prevent further anthropogenic climate change. In other words, we not only need to mitigate ongoing climate change, but also prevent it from becoming more problematic.
The first step to addressing anthropogenic climate change is for the current and future administrations to uphold the Paris Agreement. This means that the U.S. needs to achieve its Paris Agreement Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below its 2005 level by 2025, making best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28%. [2] Under the most optimistic scenarios, current U.S. policy would only reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 23% below 2005 levels by 2025. [2] Therefore, new regulations and policies ought to be implemented in order to achieve the United States' INDC promise.
In terms of policy, it is imperative to make sure that current regulations derived from existing laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy Act, and the Energy Independence and Security Act are enforced. [2] Moreover, new environmental regulations and policies ought to be implemented. [2] The federal government needs to be active in addressing climate change. There are several ways for the government to do this, but let me propose and explain two good options to implement simultaneously: a carbon tax at the source of emission coupled with regulations, mandates, and subsidies. Regulations, mandates, and subsidies should be used to increase fuel-efficiency, increase energy-efficiency, fund renewable and sustainable energy research, implement and deploy existing renewable and sustainable technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration, provide economic incentives for businesses to operate sustainably, and limit greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation, electricity, and industrial sectors. In fact, doing all of this is necessary if the U.S. is to achieve the INDC pledge. [2] I acknowledge that money is needed to do all of this; hence, this is where a carbon tax comes into play. A carbon tax of about $30 per tonne, assuming that we accept that carbon emissions will generate economic damages in the future, would help limit global warming to 2.5°C. [3] Moreover, if the revenue from this carbon tax is used to fund the previously mentioned regulations, mandates, and subsidies, we can limit global warming even more. The free market can accommodate a $30 per tonne carbon tax, while only increasing the cost of living of the average household by 1%. [3] In addition, a carbon tax will encourage companies to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and turn to sustainable practices, which will provide them with long term profits as the worlds and the U.S. transition out of fossil fuel dependence. Other measures such as Cap & Trade, and the Clean Power Plan would also be useful in dealing with anthropogenic climate change.
The U.S. government must take action to fulfill its INDC pledge and even go beyond it. There are many regulatory and economic tools, such as a carbon tax coupled to regulations, mandates, and subsidies, that can be used to accomplish this without compromising economic growth.
© Zamora Zeledon, Jose A.. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] B. Smit et al., Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration (Imperial College Press, 2014), pp. 1-140.
[2] J. Larsen et al., "Taking Stock: Progress Toward Meeting US Climate Goals," Rhodium Group, 20 Jan 18
[3] W. D. Nordhaus et al., The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World (Yale University Press, 2013), pp. 205-232.
[4] R. S. Nerem et al., "Climate Change Driven Accelerated Sea Level Rise Detected in the Altimeter Era," Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 115, 2022 (2018).