2020 is the year for action on climate change. Voters from across the ideological spectrum want their elected officials to take concrete action to address the harmful effects of a changing climate. This can’t be accomplished with empty rhetoric and broken campaign promises — voters want legislation that can provide real results.
Last week, a bipartisan group of congressmen took the first steps to do exactly that. Together, a coalition introduced the Energy Sector Innovation Credit Act, which would provide tax credits for emerging emission-reducing green technologies. The legislation’s sponsor, Rep. Tom Reed, is joined by original co-sponsors Reps. Jimmy Panetta, Darin LaHood, Tom Suozzi, David Schweikert, and Josh Gottheimer. This group includes both Democrats and Republicans from across the country.
The way forward in addressing climate change is leaning on the power of American innovation and technological development, not a government takeover of the energy sector. This bipartisan legislation will encourage new developments in nuclear and renewable energy, helping these cleaner options become more viable in the energy market. Importantly, the legislation also mentions incentivizing advances in battery-storage technology, which would reduce wasted energy and make renewable industries more competitive.
Although the costs of renewable energy are already on the decline because of innovation and further development in their respective industries, barriers to renewable competitiveness in the energy market still exist. Legislation supportive of renewables helps remove these barriers.
Of course, the end goal is not to give these industries a leg up forever. This is why phasing out the credits is such a crucial aspect of the nuanced legislation.
As technology becomes competitive or proves ineffective in practice, the credit will taper off. The legislation prevents technologies from “double-dipping” with multiple tax credit programs as well. The bottom line is that, domestically, this policy would incentivize the development of clean technologies and ultimately lower emission levels by helping deploy the most promising innovations as soon as possible.
It’s important to note that this legislation emphasizes private-sector action instead of pursuing a government-heavy, top-down solution. The government’s place is to incentivize behavior, not to force it or punish companies. With the right incentives, there are countless innovators ready to step up. Not only will this legislation help spur climate change solutions, but also, with new technologies on the market, boons to economic growth and job creation are not far off.
Although domestic results are obviously important, climate solutions must be globally focused. Even if the United States cut all carbon emissions today, other countries would continue to produce 85% of global carbon emissions. We can’t stop climate change on our own.
The good news is that by incentivizing technological innovation domestically, the U.S. will not only lower our emissions but will also be able to export clean technologies to other nations. The history of climate policy is marked by partisan bickering and inaction — but the future must be defined by bipartisan cooperation and real results. The Energy Sector Innovation Credit Act is an admirable first step.
See the original in The Washington Examiner.