To the Editor:

Don’t forget about climate policies

Posted

The Russians are coming!

Responding to last week’s news of the Russian-Ukraine war and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urgent updated report, where does natural gas fit in climate policy and our national security?

In a nutshell: Natural gas is substantially less emissions intensive than coal, but only if methane leakage is substantially reduced. While transitioning our economy to the necessary timeline of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (and if we are to avert increasing lives lost, detrimental public health issues, societal economic costs of ever-increasing extreme climate events, loss of biodiversity, environmental justice), our U.S. national security will best improve with renewable clean energy independence to address future global climate migration and food insecurity.

How? A predictable scheduled rising carbon pricing is the most effective, efficient way to answer the question of what role natural gas will play in that transition. With carbon fee and dividend legislation, such as EICDA (Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act) free-market principles will move us toward innovations in renewable energy and U.S. energy independence.

Call Senators Burr and Tillis and your Member of Congress to support EICDA as important to our national security and independent energy policy.

Minta Phillips
Julian