A Republican-led coalition of fossil fuel giants, environmental advocates, and former federal policymakers on Thursday issued a "Roadmap" to addressing climate change that, while labeled as "Bipartisan," is particularly aimed at garnering GOP support.
An economic who's-who from Goldman Sachs, General Motors, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, and Unilever to former Federal Reserve Chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen signed onto the effort from the Climate Leadership Council, which would seek to halve U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 2035, chiefly by charging businesses for the greenhouse gas emissions that they produce.
The proposal calls for giving the proceeds of the carbon fee back to American taxpayers, which would amount to an annual payment of $2,000 to a family of four, the Roadmap said. In turn, it would seek to reduce regulations on carbon emissions that it says would become comparatively less efficient and effective.
"Today's release of the Bipartisan Climate Roadmap is the latest example of growing business leadership on climate policy and of ever-louder calls from many corporate sector leaders for an economy-wide price on carbon." Climate Leadership Council chairman and CEO Ted Halstead said in a statement.
The announcement is arguably most notable for the broad swath of companies, thought leaders, and nonprofit organizations — including a trio of prominent environmental groups — that endorsed it. Executives, including those at the top of fossil fuel companies, have long called for instituting a price on heat-trapping carbon emissions, an idea that has gained particular favor among Republicans while also attracting backing from prominent Democratic climate activists like former Vice President Al Gore.
The roadmap's lead authors, former Secretaries of State James Baker and George Schultz, who both served Republican presidents, shopped the proposal to the Trump administration in 2017. It departs from the climate proposals offered by congressional Republicans: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, for example, on Wednesday announced a three-part approach that calls for greater recycling, planting trees, and investing in clean energy and carbon-capture technologies.
The Roadmap included a poll from Morning Consult, finding broad support for government steps to address climate change, including 2-to-1 support among Republicans for "charging fossil fuel companies for their carbon emissions" and giving the proceeds back to taxpayers.
It follows an uptick in climate announcements from major corporations, from pledges by JetBlue and BP to go carbon-neutral by mid-century, to BlackRock's announcement that it will begin incorporating climate change into its investment decisions, to Microsoft's ambitious effort to effectively remove all of the emissions it's generated since its founding in a garage in the 1970s.
"It's well past time for the U.S. Congress to stop dithering on climate action and get down to business," Andrew Steer, CEO of the World Resources Institute, a research and advocacy group, said in a statement. "This Roadmap provides a solid foundation for Members of Congress looking to develop ambitious, bipartisan climate legislation and provides a win-win for America's economy and climate."
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
