Earth Equity News

‘Post-Partisan’ Energy Proposal Emphasizes Limited Subsidies, Small Carbon Tax. By Jenny Mandel, Greenwire, 10/14/10. “The United States should emphasize innovation to drive down the cost of clean energy technologies and curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report [Post-Partisan Power, PDF, 36 pp] released today by right- and left-leaning policy groups. The conservative American Enterprise Institute and liberal Brookings Institution and Breakthrough Institute say policies focused narrowly on driving down clean-energy costs by improving the technologies will win support from an electorate weary of ‘climate wars’ that have long polarized political debates.

“Co-authored by Steven Hayward of AEI, Mark Muro of Brookings, and Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute, the report focuses on four ‘post-partisan’ proposals with price tags ranging from $15 billion to $25 billion per year: 1) The federal government should expand spending on energy science and education. The Energy Department's Office of Science should have its budget doubled to address scientific obstacles to energy technologies, while a slew of innovation institutes should channel up to $5 billion per year toward energy challenges, and energy education for students of all ages should be earmarked for at least $500 million per year. 2) The energy innovation system should be completely overhauled to focus on lining up with private-sector and Defense Department demands. 3) Federal subsidies should be overhauled to favor products that consistently fall in price. 4) Finally, energy investments should be made cost-neutral by some combination of pay-fors that could include phasing out existing subsidies, increasing oil and gas royalties, adding a fee for imported oil, placing a surcharge on electricity sales or imposing a modest carbon price. The carbon tax, the report says, in the range of $5 per ton, would cost consumers and businesses about a third as much as recent cap-and-trade legislation, according to the authors.”