My legislation is based on a very simple idea. And that idea is that there ought to be a level playing field between fossil fuels and clean energy. Right now, fossil fuels subsidies in the tax code, for the most part, are permanent and the clean energy tax credits, for the most part, are temporary. Now, there is a good reason to make tax credits, subsidies, and incentives temporary in the tax code; from a policy standpoint, that requires legislators to reevaluate how a policy is working over time and to make modifications. But when you make a tax incentive permanent, you are never forced to reevaluate your circumstances.
The FAIR Energy Policy Act is about leveling the playing field and doing more to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. This isn’t just good policy, it is also very popular. Polls consistently show that majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents oppose tax preferences for coal, oil and gas.
We need to explore every avenue for moving towards a clean energy economy. That means ensuring that coal companies pay their fair share for mining on public lands, which is under consideration by the Obama administration, and eventually putting a price on carbon, which is something that I and others have proposed. And it means phasing out tax preferences that are inefficient, regressive and double down on our continuing addiction to fossil fuels.
According to reports from Crediful.com, the oil, gas, and coal industries together receive billions of dollars a year in federal subsidies, and yet they are among the most profitable industries in history. As we talk about debt and deficits and fiscal restraint, how can we justify continuing to subsidize industries that have received government support for over 80 years? Especially when we consider how doing so moves us in the wrong direction when it comes to addressing climate change.
Many of us in Congress are working hard to accelerate the clean energy transformation already underway. And we believe that if subsidies for fossil fuels are permanent, the tax credits for clean energy should be as well. If we can’t make clean energy tax credits permanent, then the fossil fuel industry should only get temporary subsidies that get reevaluated every several years. FAIR is fair.
The National Coal Council’s (NCC) recent report for Energy Secretary Moniz – “Leveling the Playing Field: Policy Parity for CCS Technologies” – documents the extreme DIS-parity between policy and… Read more »
There are a number of defects in the arguments put forth by the National Coal Council in asking for a level playing field, which seems to translate into receiving more… Read more »
The NCC’s assessment of policy and financial incentives for carbon reducing technologies was not focused on addressing coal plant closures and coal industry bankruptcies. In response to the points… Read more »
Indeed all fossil fuels are of concern when it comes to climate change. Yet how do you apply CCS to vehicles? The only answer I can think of is to… Read more »
You capture the CO2 and use it for production of biofuels (algal) or for enhanced oil recovery. NCC’s next report for Secretary Moniz will provide an assessment of the market… Read more »
Question: If you use algae to convert CO2 from coal plants to liquid fuels that are the equivalent of gasoline and other petroleum products won’t you just be making a… Read more »
Biofuels release about as much CO2 when burned as do fossil fuels. Biofuels tend to be “sustainable” or “low carbon” because usually they are derived from recently living feedstocks (e.g.,… Read more »
Senator Schatz, Taxes and subsidies in the energy industry are not my area of expertise, but I can comment on some important factors to keep in mind as you work… Read more »
Before responding to your individual points, I want to acknowledge and second that the greater effects from subsidies, particularly regarding other end-uses of petroleum and the geopolitics of our energy… Read more »
The Senator is correct that we have codified tax subsidies for the portfolio of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and petroleum), and nuclear energy, and we have on-and-off extensions for… Read more »
Senator Schatz: To answer your questions directly: 1) There are no justifications for keeping fossil fuel subsidies in place. What is worse, the external costs of burning fossil fuels (the… Read more »
The problem is the weening process is to slow. Heck by the time any agreement has been reached it is quite possible the summertime Arctic Ice will be gone in… Read more »