April 22, 2018
By Joseph Piraino Special to "The Citizen"

Addressing the US’s contribution to global climate change (click here) will require the participation and cooperation of the political right ... and the left. Surprised? Consider this:

Putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. a carbon tax) is broadly recognized by economists, scientists and policy experts as the most important first step in tackling the global warming crisis we face. There is no debating that implementing any climate policy faces stiff headwinds in Congress, a resistance most often attributed to climate-deniers in the Republican Party. But there is movement among Republicans and Conservatives on the issue as evidenced by groups like RepublicEn, the libertarian Niskanen Center, and the Climate Leadership Council. Each of these right-of-center groups supports a market-based solution to climate change in the form of a revenue-neutral carbon tax. In the U.S. Congress, Republican members of the Climate Solutions Caucus and co-sponsors of the Republican Climate Resolution (including our representative, John Katko) are evidence that support for substantive climate change legislation could have support by the political right.

What is perhaps more uncertain than potential Republican support for meaningful climate legislation in the form of a carbon tax is support from the political left, as evidenced by the history of Washington state’s carbon tax referendum known as Initiative....