To create a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for the American people in order to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies and market efficiencies which will reduce harmful pollution and leave a healthier, more stable, and more prosperous Nation for future generations
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2023 (H.R. 5744) is a bill in the United States House of Representatives that proposes a fee on carbon at the point of extraction to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fees are recycled to citizens in monthly dividends. Most recently on September 27, 2023, the bill was reintroduced in the 118th Congress as H. R. 5744, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2023.[1] The act was originally introduced in 2018 with bipartisan support from six co-sponsors and died when the 115th congress ended on 3 January 2019.[2] It is principally based on Citizens' Climate Lobby's carbon fee and dividend proposal, and this organization advocates for the bill.[3]
2018 bill
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018 was a proposed 2018 bill that intended to "create a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund for the American people in order to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies and market efficiencies which will reduce harmful pollution and leave a healthier, more stable, and more prosperous nation for future generations." The bill was originally introduced by RepresentativeTed Deutch (D-FL) on November 27, 2018, with bipartisan support from 4 co-sponsors.[4] A companion bill was introduced into the United States Senate by Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on December 19, 2018.[5] The bill died when the 115th Congress ended on January 3, 2019. The bill was reintroduced in the 116th Congress as the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019.
Introduce a carbon tax[9] at the point of extraction, beginning at $15 per metric ton of CO₂-e (carbon dioxide equivalent) and increasing each year by $10 (adjusted by inflation) or more, depending on its effectiveness, with exemptions for fuel used for military and farm purposes and fluorinated gases,
The bill is also supported by climate scientist and activist James Hansen and former secretary of stateGeorge Shultz. The governments (or parts of the governments) of several localities, including the following with more than 50,000 residents, have signed resolutions urging the United States Congress to pass the act:[15]
In April 2019, novelist and leading member of Orange County for Climate Action Roger Gloss posted his opposition to HR 763, noting the lack of annual emissions targets, and the first assessment of whether targets are being met in 2030, the year in which the IPCC says emissions must have already been halved.[19]