“In the past, the folks who may have been advocating for a price on carbon have made me feel that is the end-all, be-all, and I’m no longer hearing a carbon tax is an end-all, be-all.” “We’ve made it clear to all of our colleagues that in order to have, it can’t be the only thing,” said a Democratic aide with the Senate Budget Committee. Any carbon tax bill is likely to be packed with spending - such as money for electric vehicles and to help pollution-stricken communities - that progressives will demand in exchange for their support. “Since day one, he has clearly taken steps that are not aligned with that.”Īnd Democrats as a whole don’t see eye-to-eye with the business groups and think tanks that are nudging tax-curious Republicans to embrace carbon pricing. “During the election, this is something Biden tried his best to run away from,” Palicz said. Imposing a tax that would touch nearly every American would be out of step with Biden’s attempt to present himself as an ally to working-class families, he said. Palicz said there’s political risk in pushing policies that would raise energy costs, especially during an economic slowdown. During a marathon round of votes on the coronavirus relief bill earlier this month, all 50 Republican senators voted for a resolution opposing a carbon tax. While carbon tax supporters have talked about a “jailbreak moment” with Republicans, they’ve had little tangible success, said Mike Palicz, federal affairs manager with Americans for Tax Reform, a small-government group that’s influential in GOP circles. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute and Business Roundtable, have endorsed a loosely defined “market-based” mechanism for dealing with emissions. Trade groups that have long been aligned with Republicans, including the U.S. Whitehouse said some Republicans have told him they could support carbon pricing, but would need strong public backing from corporate leaders before breaking from party orthodoxy to endorse a new tax. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has said a tax can be part of climate legislation. Sanders had campaigned for president in 2016 on a carbon tax, but those proposals were notably absent during his 2020 run after it fell out of favor with the left.īut Sanders never wholly ditched the idea - his campaign website still calls for “fees” on fossil fuel pollution - and it remains a potential policy tool. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) shifting stance on carbon pricing could foreshadow the type of problems Democrats will have in writing a plan that wins the support of progressives. There are tripwires on both sides of the aisle. “If at some point it looks like we’re going to fail, then they can always step in.” Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a carbon price supporter, said in an interview. I think it becomes a target at that point,” Sen. “I just don’t think he will be as successful if he tries to cook up a climate bill in the opening months of his administration and then present it to Congress. will align with those systems.īut on Capitol Hill, where climate negotiations are just getting underway, Democrats worry that the White House will prematurely issue its own specific proposals and upset fragile legislative consensus-building. are advancing carbon tariffs linked to pricing schemes, raising urgent questions of how the U.S. The president will want to make a splashy commitment on the international stage, possibly at his April 22 summit of world climate leaders. In a nod to political sensitivities, Biden officials also endorse a more generic carbon “price,” a term which covers an array of options such as cap and trade, and could be included alongside a clean electricity standard that sets requirements for renewable energy. White House climate envoy John Kerry and domestic climate chief Gina McCarthy both say a tax is on the table. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has endorsed a tax. His campaign platform included an “enforcement mechanism” for reducing emissions, which many interpreted as a carbon tax. President Joe Biden has thrown down his marker.
“We are all trying to assess the current state of climate politics and what is possible this year,” said Alex Flint, executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions, a group of conservative leaders who support a revenue-neutral carbon tax.
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