Hugh Helferty and Jessica Nacheman published this article in Common Dreams calling for Big Oil, not taxpayers, to bear the cost burden of climate cleanup.
From the article:
With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the government took the “carrot” approach: Give companies an incentive to act and hope that they’ll do the right thing. Some companies have been very complimentary of the IRA because it allows them to decarbonize at taxpayer expense. Their only complaint is that they want even larger incentives so they can make greater profits on their decarbonization investments. These companies now see the atmospheric carbon problems as opportunities, but they still want the U.S. taxpayer to pay for their new decarbonization business ventures.
It is time for the IRA’s carrots to be followed by a regulatory stick. If oil companies want to continue to produce fossil fuels, we should phase in a requirement that they address the emissions that result from their production and use. Companies that reduce emissions most cheaply will be more profitable than those who are less efficient, and this will accelerate the deployment of climate solutions. Oil companies will, of course, pass some of those costs on to their customers. This will prompt consumers to seek alternatives to fossil fuels and to use less—exactly what needs to happen if we are to achieve Net Zero emissions.
This regulatory approach is nothing new. When society needed gasoline to be produced without toxic lead, it was required by regulation and oil companies did it. The same thing happened when low sulfur fuels were required to reduce pollution. Companies spent billions to produce better fuels, and we have cleaner air and fewer deaths as a result. Similar regulations should, and must, be used to drive decarbonization.
This approach—requiring oil companies to decarbonize—should have supporters on both sides of the political aisle. It both improves the environment and reduces taxes—a win-win. The Big Oil lobby will be strongly opposed, just like they were to previous regulations. But in the end, they’ll do what needs to be done.
Read the full article here.