Edina, Richfield Residents Take Climate Change Proposal to Congress

Concerned that climate change is making the world unlivable, volunteers from the Metro Twin Cities chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to ask members of the Congress to put a price on carbon that would phase out the use of fossil fuels.

Participants at the 2011 Citizens Climate Lobby International Conference in Washington, D.C. said the flooding along the Mississippi and the increasing number of severe storms in recent months are an indication that we’re running out of time.

Richfield's Kay Nelson, who was one of the volunteers who attended, said it was "very exciting and powerful to visit legislators on the Hill and make our cases known."

More than 80 volunteers traveled from as far away as Alaska and Canada to attend the CCL conference, where they heard from renowned climate scientist Dr. James Hansen and visited more than 140 offices in the House and Senate. Minnesotans included Nelson and John Howard III and Paul Thompson of Edina, along with four others from around Minnesota.

Despite the prevailing view that legislation to stop climate change won’t be taken up in the current Congress, volunteers pressed on in their efforts with a legislative proposal to price carbon, known as carbon fee and dividend.

The approach would place a steadily rising fee on carbon-based fuels, starting at $15 per ton of carbon dioxide, and return the revenue to all households in the form of monthly payments. The predictable price on carbon, CCL says, will send a clear signal to shift investments away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy and energy efficiency.

“In this Congress, obviously, legislation to address climate change will have to be introduced by a Republican if you expect it to go anywhere,” said Mark Reynolds, executive director of Citizens Climate Lobby. “If we keep saying ‘Wait ‘til the next Congress,’ eventually it will be too late to maintain a livable world. We need to take steps now.”