To the Editor:
“It’s the economy, stupid” was the 1992 phrase coined by James Carville.
We must address the ever-increasing cost of climate change today. We must start decarbonizing our economy now.
Many solutions considered include developing renewable energy resources, electrifying transportation, improving electrical efficiencies, investing in R&D grid-scale battery storage, planting trees, etc.
All raise the same questions. How much? Where will we find the money? Also, we should strive for fair solutions leaving no one behind in our energy transition.
Year after year, the costly impacts of climate change increasingly affect our health, lives and property. Many households, already stretched financially, need our focus on current and future affordability. The cost of doing nothing to decarbonize will grow even higher.
For example, the Build Back Better plan contains $555 billion spending proposals for climate and clean energy efforts over 10 years. Notably, the single-year cost of 2021’s extreme weather events is estimated at $145 billion with nearly 700 lives lost. Alone, Hurricane Ida’s powerful winds and record flooding supercharged by climate change brought damages of $65 billion.
Of all the currently proposed solutions, carbon pricing legislation is the fastest, single most powerful, and cost-effective way to combat climate change. Call Congress now!
MINTA PHILLIPS
Julian