As Biden’s Climate Summit Approaches, Carbon Pricing Remains Uncertain

Powerlines in Medway, MA. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

President Joe Biden is inviting world leaders to join him later this week for a virtual climate summit, where the president is expected to announce a new, lower target for U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The reduction is seen as essential for slowing climate change. Biden has also pledged to adopt new regulations for fossil fuel producers but, so far, he has not signaled support for carbon pricing, which some say ought to be part of the package.

For years, the fossil fuel industry has argued that any kind of carbon tax would be the kiss of death for the economy. Then last month the American Petroleum Institute, the leading oil and gas lobbying group, said it could support putting a price on carbon emissions as a substitute for regulating greenhouse gases.

Environmental groups called the about-face “self-serving.” Members of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby welcomed it with open arms.

“We know that carbon pricing is on the table. Even people who argue against it are proving that carbon pricing is at the center of the argument,” says Peter Monro, a steering committee member of the Portland, Maine chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a national, bipartisan, grassroots organization that favors carbon fee and dividend legislation as one important step to address the climate emergency.

Read the rest of the story at Maine Public’s website.