The Marin Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby supports all effective and socially just efforts to draw down CO2 emissions and reverse climate change. Our strongest advocacy is for a national, annually escalating carbon fee and dividend.
This policy will help enable and accelerate the development of renewable carbon-free technologies.
The Marin Chapter meets each month (currently on-line) to discuss the economics of carbon fee and dividend and the current political climate for legislation. Our chapter president is Peter Joseph and our Steering Committee includes knowledgeable journalists, economists, energy professionals, community organizers, and others from Marin County.
Check out our most recent Newsletter!
An Overview of Carbon Fee and Dividend:
- Place a steadily rising fee on the carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from fossil fuels:
- Collect carbon fees (taxes) from the fossil fuel industry for the extraction and import of oil, gas, coal.
- Start the fee at $15/metric ton of CO2- equivalent emissions of fossil fuels, escalating by $10/metric ton each year.
- Return 100% of the net fees directly to households as a monthly dividend:
- About two-thirds of Americans will receive more in dividends than they will pay in higher prices caused the portion of the fee that the fossil fuel companies elect to pass along.
- The monthly household dividend will inject billions into the economy, protect family budgets, free households to make independent choices about their energy usage, spur innovation, and build aggregate demand for low-carbon products at the consumer level.
- Impose a border carbon adjustment (BCA) on commodity imports from countries that lack a meaningful carbon price. This levels the playing field between the US and trading partners:
- The BCA will (1) discourage US businesses from relocating where they can emit more CO2 and (2) motivate other countries to adopt similar carbon pricing policies.
- An Important Bill in Congress:
- HR2307 is the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act”.
- This bill will impose a fee on carbon extraction and give the revenue back to U.S. Citizens.
- HR 2307 currently has 95 Congressional Cosponsors and counting.
- Including our own Jared Huffman.
A new angle on Project 2025.
14 groups behind it have gotten donations from a Shell Oil nonprofit.
They include some of the most hardcore climate denial and religious right groups in America.
My new story co-published by @guardian and @DeSmog
"#Project2025: The right-wing conspiracy to torpedo global climate action" | My new piece for Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@BulletinAtomic):
"These services — insurance, electricity, firefighting — are crucial. But the costs are making an already expensive state even less affordable, including for those who live far from wildfire zones"
We need a #carbontax with the revenue returned to all households.
It's cheaper.
Upcoming Events:
Marin Chapter Meeting on September 14th at 9:00am:
Please join us for our monthly chapter meeting:
CLIMATE POLICY CROSSROADS:
Finding the Path to U.S. and Global Policy Alignment
Presentation by Robert Archer, former Senior Energy Advisor
U.S. Agency for International Development
Climate tax policy is about to get serious once again due to the expiration of the Trump tax cuts in 2025 and the impending impact of the E.U.’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on U.S. industry.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the only grassroots organization advocating carbon fee, dividend and CBAM, is well positioned to influence the debate (assuming an administration and congress serious about climate.)
Robert Archer, of the Marin Chapter, will assess the circumstances, both global and national, pointing to a promising U.S. path forward addressing global warming. After studying economics at Yale and serving in the Peace Corps, Bob worked for USAID for 25 
years on electricity reforms in Asia and the former Soviet Union, learning what works and what doesn’t, especially in countries with weak institutions, serious corruption and major carbon pollution.
You can prepare for this presentation by watching Sen. Whitehouse’s crystal clear interview at the Brookings Institution on why carbon pricing is essential, and “frankly, not that difficult.”
Come with your questions and prepare to be enlightened.
We will continue presenting how you can participate at whatever level you choose, focusing on navigating CCL Community’s rich resources to find your action team and trainings, and opportunities to act locally.
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The Monthly National Call Saturday September 14th at 10:00am:
Each month, Citizens’ Climate Lobby supporters gather locally for a monthly meeting where we educate ourselves by listening to a guest speaker.
The speaker for this September’s meeting will be with Dr. Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Dan does research in behavioral economics and tries to describe it in plain language.
Here’s what Dan says about his work: “My immersive introduction to irrationality took place many years ago while I was overcoming injuries sustained in an explosion. The range of treatments in the burn department, and particularly the daily “bath” made me face a variety of irrational behaviors that were immensely painful and persistent. Upon leaving the hospital, I wanted to understand how to better deliver painful and unavoidable treatments to patients, so I began conducting research in this area.
I became engrossed with the idea that we repeatedly and predictably make the wrong decisions in many aspects of our lives and that research could help 
change some of these patterns. A few years later, as I was learning more and more about decision making and behavioral economics, I realized that this knowledge is relevant to many aspects of our life, from financial decision making, to health, to better habits, and even to better personal life.
Once I realized that understanding decision-making can help me live in a better way, I started working on how to get all of us to use the same basic knowledge to improve our daily life. These findings have enriched my life, and my hope is that they will do the same for you.”:
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Did You Miss the 2024 Conference?
The 2024 CCL June Conference Keynote addresses are now available here:
About Citizens’ Climate Lobby in a Short 2 Minute Video:
White Papers and Articles that can help you better understand Carbon Fee and Dividend:
Written testimony to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee following its March 23, 2022 hearing on Promoting American Energy Security by Facilitating Investments and Innovation in Climate Solutions.
“Prosperous Sweden, which first introduced carbon taxes in 1990, today emits only a third as much carbon dioxide per dollar of gross domestic product as the United States.”
“Three pending climate bills would achieve Biden’s bold climate targets, satisfy budget reconciliation criteria, and meet the all-important political criterion of achieving public support.”
“While a steadily rising fee on fossil fuel pollution helps deliver swift and meaningful environmental justice, the dividend delivers a remarkable measure of economic justice.”
“Here’s a way to manage both fossil fuel lobbying power and the economic impact of a rapid reduction in fossil fuel use: get the fossil fuel companies to PAY individuals to stop using their products.”
(Click Here for an archive of White Papers and other published articles and letters.)
Locally Published Newspaper Opinions and Letters:
- Marin IJ Voice (Jonathan Marshall and Ray Welsh)
PG&E’s electricity rate reform is needed to move forward)
May 6, 2023
- S.F. Chronicle Opinion (Ray Welsh)
How Newsom’s $400 California gas rebate idea can be scaled up to fight climate change April 23, 2022
- Letter: Marin IJ:
Carbon fee works better than cap-and-trade February 26, 2022
Letter: Marin IJ: Cap-and-trade program failing to make difference February 24, 2022
- Marin Voice: An essential first step to reduce carbon pollution July 2020
Who Supports Carbon Fee and Dividend in Marin?
Marin organizations who have endorsed HR 2307, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act currently in Congress:
- Marin Board of Supervisors
- College of Marin Board of Trustees
- Canal Alliance
- MCE (Marin Clean Energy)
- SolarCraft
- Turning Green
- Indivisible Marin
- Mike’s Bikes
- Marin County Bicycle Coalition
- Good Earth Natural Foods
- KW Botanicals
- Jayli
- EcoRing
- Crook Beales Design
- Simple Solar
- 42 members of the Progressive Caucus
- 14 members of the Congressional Black Caucus
- 13 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- 29 members of the Congressional Asian American Caucus
Support for this legislation continues to grow.
Take Action Right Now:
Join CCL Today
Join Citizens’ Climate Lobby to stay up-to-date on events and information regarding climate action. This is also a great way to connect with the community.
- Be sure to check out this page on the CCL Community website:
https://community.citizensclimate.org/new-volunteer. This is an excellent page to find out more about Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s focus, methods, and values.
- You can also sign up for an information session and learn more about Citizens’ Climate Lobby and how you can make a difference – it covers the basics about our approach and our preferred solution. Get your questions answered live!
- If you want to become more involved LOCALLY here in Marin, take this brief questionnaire that can provide areas where you can contribute and make of difference:
Write to Congress
Contact Senator Dianne Feinstein here
Contact Senator Alex Padilla here
Contact our Representative Jared Huffman here
Learn about the Energy Innovation and Climate Dividend Act and what you can do TODAY to support this important House bill.