Democrat Paul Tonko of New York released a framework for combating climate change on Thursday that is meant to attract GOP support.
“There is reason to hope we can come together in a bipartisan, bicameral way on climate change. I am sensing it,” said Tonko, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on environment and climate change.
“The public drives outcomes on the Hill,” Tonko said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “There is a growing acceptance climate change is real, is driven by the human element, that it bears a sense of urgency, and needs to be addressed in a science-based fashion.”
Tonko is unveiling the plan at the “Climate Leadership Conference” in Baltimore Thursday morning, where he will participate in a panel alongside Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican.
The plan, which is not meant to be prescriptive or overly specific, establishes more achievable goals than those laid out in the progressive “Green New Deal,” a dramatic proposal to transform the economy that has repelled Republicans.
Tonko’s plan sets a longer-term plan of establishing a price on carbon emissions, a policy that has long eluded climate hawks.
“There needs to be a longer, deliberate debate and discussion about putting a price on carbon because carbon pollution today is free, and there is a cost to society of that on public health, public safety, and national security,” Tonko said, adding he is not ready to endorse a specific carbon pricing plan, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, the latter of which Democrats tried and failed to pass in 2009.
The Green New Deal, by contrast, does not mention carbon pricing — although it does not rule it out — and instead favors direct federal spending or mandates.
Tonko acknowledges carbon pricing “realistically won’t happen as quickly” as his other proposals, given significant Republican opposition.
Tonko said his plan, developed over 18 months, is “complementary” with the Green New Deal, which he did not co-sponsor, even though it differs with that plan in its underlying goal.
Tonko’s plan sets a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, eliminating additional emissions of carbon by that time. The Green New Deal, in comparison, aims for the same goal by 2030.
The plan contains familiar short-term policy proposals also broadly supported by Republican leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee, such as Greg Walden of Oregon and John Shimkus of Illinois.
They include: building energy infrastructure such as transmission and distribution lines and upgrading existing equipment to buffer against extreme weather, improving energy efficiency in publicly funded projects, modernizing the electricity grid to accommodate the use of more wind and solar, and spending on research and development into clean energy technologies, including carbon capture on fossil fuel plants.
“All of that is doable in a bipartisan way,” Tonko said.
The plan does not mention advanced nuclear energy research, which some Democrats support because of its zero-carbon profile, but Tonko did not rule it out.
His plan also proposes increased electrification across all sectors of the economy and incentivizing the use of cleaner transportation, such as electric vehicles and buses.
Tonko’s framework does draw inspiration from some big themes of the Green New Deal, such as emphasizing the need to help poor and minorities communities who are often forced to reside in less hospitable, industrial areas where they are exposed to environmental hazards.
Both plans also share an interest in providing support to coal miners and others whose livelihoods depend on fossil fuels, through guaranteed pensions, education and job retraining, and relocation help.
“I want to maintain an open mind as chairman of the climate subcommittee,” Tonko said. “We will need to be guided by these principles as we develop a coalition in the House to get this done.”
