Carbon Tax and Low-Income Grant Proposal to Encourage Low-Income Investment in Solar Technologies

By Elizabeth Doherty* 

I. Introduction

​Climate change is internationally recognized as the biggest threat facing the world today.[1] This threat transcends politics, economics, and social views. In 2017 we saw historic flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, and now record snowfall in the southeastern United States.[2] These and other natural disasters are exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change. While it may be too late to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius, we must make whatever changes possible to prevent temperatures from rising even higher.
In the United States, almost one-third of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the electricity sector alone.[3] If we transition our electricity sector to renewable technologies, we will be able to eliminate a significant portion of our GHG contributions. Further, the transportation sector accounts for another 28% (in 2016) of U.S. GHG emissions.[4] If we electrify the transportation sector and transition to renewable energy technologies, we will be able to eliminate more than half of our national GHG emissions. If we are to successfully combat climate change, the United States must become a global leader and make significant steps toward the transition to a clean energy economy.

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