September 22, 2021

Washington, DC— In response to reports that carbon pricing is under active consideration in the reconciliation discussions happening on Capitol Hill, the CEO Climate Dialogue issued the following statement:

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“The CEO Climate Dialogue has long advocated for Congress to take bold climate action and we are encouraged to see climate policy at the center of the reconciliation package currently being discussed in Congress. We are pleased to see an economy-wide price on carbon under consideration as one of several tools to help meet our nation’s ambitious climate goals and look forward to having constructive conversations with lawmakers in the coming weeks to discuss what a well-designed carbon price could look like and accomplish.

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In 2020, the United States endured 22 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, costing $95 billion in damages to homes, businesses, and infrastructure and we have already seen a number of concerning events in the United States and around the globe this year that indicate that these climate disasters will become more prevalent and costly in the years to come. In addition, a recent report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cautioned that “catastrophic impacts lie ahead unless the world rapidly and dramatically cuts greenhouse gas emissions.” As a broad-based coalition of 26 leading businesses and institutions representing multiple sectors across the U.S. economy — environmental advocacy, manufacturing, utilities, agriculture and food, energy and resources, automotive, chemicals, and financial services — the CEO Climate Dialogue is aligned in recognizing that to mitigate these impacts and to reduce emissions at the pace and scale needed to meet the climate crisis, Congress must pass effective climate legislation now. 

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The CEO Climate Dialogue has long been a proponent of market-based climate change solutions and sees implementing an economy-wide carbon price as an efficient and effective mechanism that can accelerate the U.S. transition to a low-carbon economy at the least cost to the economy and households; unlock the power of the markets to drive investments and innovations in cutting-edge technologies across sectors that can help to reduce emissions; raise revenues needed to address environmental justice concerns; and train our workforce to excel at clean energy jobs of the future that will help to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness and position the United States as a global leader in combatting the climate crisis.”

 

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CEO Climate Dialogue 

The CEO Climate Dialogue is a broad-based coalition of 26 leading businesses and institutions representing sectors across the U.S. economy — oil and gas, utilities, agriculture and food, automotive, chemicals, manufacturing, financial services, and environmental advocacy —united in their recognition of the economic, health, and environmental risks posed by climate change. The CEO Climate Dialogue seeks to facilitate high-level discussions around climate change policy and solutions in order to spur collective cross-sector action and the enactment of policies that will help to mitigate the growing challenges of climate change.  For more information on the CEO Climate Dialogue, visit www.ceoclimatedialogue.org.