A Carbon Border Fee Could Unify Conservatives (and Progressives, Too)

RealClearEnergy
July 7, 2022
By Bob Inglis

With climate stakeholders scrambling in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on West Virginia v. EPA at the end of the session, the biggest takeaway message is this: Congress must put its partisan differences aside to act on climate change.

And the clearest path forward is pricing carbon.

Nationalists and Reagan conservatives could both celebrate the result of this carbon pricing. Nationalists would cheer knowing that a border adjustment of this type would result in a 9% increase in American steel sales, according to a study commissioned by the Climate Leadership Council. Similar results could be seen in other carbon-intensive product lines. Reagan conservatives would cheer knowing that this kind of market mechanism is more efficient than attempting to regulate emissions or to incentivize clean energy.