The U.S. needs a climate solution – just not the Green New Deal that Representative Ocasio-Cortez is pushing for. It is good that the GND has refocused the national conversation about climate change. Climate change has become a major talking point recently, and rightfully so – our window of opportunity is running short. However, the GND is clearly not the right solution for our country. It is simply too partisan, and bipartisan agreement is an absolute necessity regarding a climate solution. Fortunately, there is a bipartisan, conservative-led climate solution already available – the Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan.
This plan boasts impressive bipartisan support – namely, the Economists’ Statement, in which a record number of economists, including Nobel Laureates and Fed Chairs, signed on to an agreement stating that Carbon Dividends are an economically sound way to tackle climate change. In addition, this plan has support on both sides of the aisle – something sorely lacking in today’s political climate. By simply placing a price on Carbon pollution, it is projected to be even more effective than the Paris agreement. And unlike the GND, it avoids regulations that would stifle the economy. It is capitalist and uses the free market to control emissions. In contrast to the liberal GND, this is a superior, conservative solution. It would spur innovation that could potentially create superior technology that would serve the U.S. well in generating power during cold spells like the Polar Vortex.
It is past time that we craft a meaningful climate solution. Climate change is definitely real, but we cannot allow liberals to stifle the economy in the name of climate change. The GND is not a feasible solution simply because it does not make sense. We should rally around alternate solutions; namely, the Baker-Shultz Plan. The solution is already here – we just have to seize it.
Sincerely,
Rohit Giridharan
Yale University Class of 2022
