The Conservative Uphill Slog For A Carbon Tax

Earlier this week, the Climate Leadership Council rolled out The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends (note the absence of the "T" word in that title!). It's a serious proposal and, if we lived in a world of facts, rather than alternative facts, it would be a useful starting point for a discussion.

Here are the highlights:

• A gradually increasing carbon tax, starting somewhere around $40/ton.

• Return of all revenue from the tax to citizens through dividend checks. The CLC predicts that the 70% of Americans with lowest income would receive more in dividends than they would pay in taxes.

• Border carbon adjustments.

• Elimination of existing carbon regulations. It's not clear what this would cover, but it would include at least the Clean Power Plan. It would also include elimination of tort liability (presumably limited to tort liability related to claims concerning climate change).