Letter: U.S. does not have to increase renewable subsidies to reduce carbon emissions

On Jan. 5, Reuters News reported that China will invest $360 billion through 2020 in renewable energy. This will create 13 million jobs in China, reduce its carbon emissions that drive climate change, and reduce emissions of other pollutants that shorten millions of lives yearly. It will also drive down the cost of wind and solar energy, giving China the edge in the worldwide market of renewable energy technology. This should dispel any notion that China is not doing its part to stop climate change.

In contrast, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated the U.S. spent $11 billion subsidizing wind and solar energy in 2013. Moreover, as a result of the 2016 election, the U.S. is at risk of failing to meet its commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement, making it more likely the U.S. will not do its part.

To reduce carbon emissions, the U.S. does not have to increase subsidies for renewable energy. It could instead remove its $4.7 billion in annual subsidies of fossil fuel and impose a revenue-neutral carbon fee for climate impacts that returns all of the revenue from the fee to the economy as a monthly dividend to every resident.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 4:50 AM with the headline "Letter: U.S. does not have to increase renewable subsidies to reduce carbon emissions."