We have twelve years to bring down greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. It is the biggest threat to our world and our species.
We think the best way to do this is to tax fossil fuels at source and give the money back to citizens, in a dividend.
And you can help create the political will to make this happen by talking to your MP. (Find and email your MP)
The minister of state for energy and clean growth, Claire Perry, is deciding the carbon taxation the UK will adopt when we leave the EU.
So, to ensure she prioritises carbon fee and dividend, please write to and/or visit your MP. You can also copy your email/letter to Claire to make double sure it reaches her ([email protected]).
If you haven’t written before – don’t worry about understanding all the points. Weight of letters, respect for your MP’s work and enthusiasm for carbon fee and dividend as the solution for tackling climate change is what matters.
The most important thing is to write something – however brief!
…even better – meet them in person.
Quick briefing
- Begin by thanking them (and Claire) for their work.
- Say – respectfully – how strongly you feel about climate change and the threat it poses.
- Briefly explain carbon fee and dividend (see info below).
- Say carbon fee and dividend would be a more effective replacement for the UK’s current pollution tax – EU Emissions Trading Scheme – and that we need to adopt it as soon as possible to work (see info below).
- Ask if you can count on their support to adopt the policy of carbon fee and dividend either as the replacement scheme or to work alongside a UK emissions trading scheme.
- Ask them to please forward your correspondence to Claire Perry.
- Remember to include your address and phone number so they know you are a constituent – this means they are obliged to answer.
Carbon fee and dividend (CF&D) in summary
Carbon fee and dividend would place an annually rising fee on fossil fuels as they are extracted or enter the country, and give the cash collected back to citizens, equally.
More here: citizensclimatelobby.uk/policy
Reasons why CF&D is the best choice
It covers more greenhouse gas emissions
The current EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) only covers 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon fee and dividend would cover all emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
US studies by Climate Leadership Council have indicated that CF&D could bring down greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent in four years: clcouncil.org/media/Exceeding-Paris.pdf
It’s a vote winner
- It protects the pockets of UK citizens as fossil fuel prices rise, which in turn protects business and our economy.
- The dividend will leave two thirds of the country better off or the same as before.
- It is clear and easy to understand, so people would notice this effective move to tackle climate change.
- It encourages people away from fossil fuels by making clean energy the cheapest option and encourages innovation into more clean energy options, which…
- …makes fossil fuels the energy of the past rather than demanding people go without.
- Meanwhile France has tried to raise fuel duty without a dividend, causing riots.
(You may remember back in the early noughties in the UK, a hike in fuel duty caused similar problems – road blockades at the fuel depots causing countrywide shortages.)
It’s good for the economy (and won’t crash it)
It stimulates the clean energy economy by giving a clear signal to business that fossil fuels will be priced out of the market and they will need to invest in new technology and/or shift their business model towards clean energy.
It lets the market decide
Instead of the government subsidising different technologies (then taking subsidies away, leaving business high and dry, or investing in things that don’t work), it lets people and business decide which clean energy option is best for them.
Top minds endorse it
Leading UK think tank, Policy Exchange, have brought out a report laying out a carbon tax and dividend, advocated by former Cons leader Michael Howard and former Labour chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling:
policyexchange.org.uk/publication/the-future-of-carbon-pricing-implementing-an-independent-carbon-tax-with-dividends-in-the-uk/
Also, top UK economists including Prof. Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute and former World Bank chief economist and Prof. Dieter Helm CBE have called for it.
Other countries are adopting it
Our allies in other countries are using carbon fee and dividend to tackle climate change:
- Canada is implementing carbon fee and dividend in all its provinces which haven’t yet adopted a carbon tax, in January 2019. British Columbia have had CF&D for six years: canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-release-canada-adopts-carbon-fee-and-dividend-to-rein-in-climate-change
- Five US senators (republicans and democrats) introduced, in congress on 27 November 2018, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018: citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act
Remember to thank Claire Perry for her achievements
One of the reasons CCL is such an effective movement is that we treat our democratically elected members with respect, no matter our personal politics.
Thank Claire for these achievements (and more):
- Claire is genuinely concerned about climate change and the best way to tackle it.
- Claire plays a leading role in the Powering Past Coal international alliance.
- In October 2018, Claire spearheaded the first Green Great Britain week.
- Claire is committed to carbon taxation to tackle climate change.