As Washington Democrats Consider Imposing a Carbon Tax, Americans Voice Unwillingness to Pay More to Combat Climate Change
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Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) opposition to the so-called Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP) has the White House and Congressional Democrats looking for alternative climate proposals to replace it. According to reports, negotiators are now considering replacing CEPP with a carbon tax.
A new CEI poll on climate change issues shows Americans are unwilling to pay for climate change mitigation policies out of pocket. Thirty-nine percent said they would not spend one dollar more than they already spend annually on gas or electricity to mitigate the effects of climate change. A further nine percent said they would spend as much as $10 more annually on gas or electricity, but not a penny more.
Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell said:
“The Biden-Harris administration and their radical allies in Congress are determined to raise energy prices one way or another. As soon as Senator Manchin wisely killed the so-called Clean Electricity Performance Program, which studies show would send electric rates through the roof, White House climate czar Gina McCarthy and congressional Democrats started calling for a carbon tax instead. A new CEI poll shows that Americans have had enough. Four in ten voters are unwilling to spend a dollar more annually on higher energy prices in the name of addressing climate change.
“President Biden’s blackout agenda has already contributed to much higher gasoline prices, soaring natural gas prices for home heating this winter, and looming coal shortages for electric generation. Adding another tax on the sources that provide three-quarters of our energy will raise prices further at a time when the least well-off are already struggling with higher costs.”
Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis said:
“A carbon dioxide tax is a market-rigging policy, not a free market one. Its purpose is to drive investment into renewable sources of energy not by lowering their cost or improving their performance but by handicapping competitors.
“Carbon taxes are anti-growth and anti-consumer, and would inflict substantial losses on job creation and household income. If the Clean Electricity Performance Program was too destructive to West Virginia’s economy for Senator Manchin to support, he should also oppose a carbon tax because it is a more aggressively punitive program. Even the most aggressive carbon tax would have negligible climate effects, and costs would far outweigh the benefits. With Americans signaling loud and clear that they are not willing to pay for new policies to fight climate change, Senators and Representatives should heed their call and oppose a costly and ineffective carbon tax.”
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