By Aiko Schaefer & Kevin J. O’Brien
Seattle PostGlobe
March 05, 2010
With great attention on Copenhagen and the international climate negotiations last December, it is tempting to think that the issue begins with complicated science and ends with the fate of distant polar bears. We believe that science and polar bears are deeply important, but climate change is also a moral issue about economic justice. Regardless of how our government ultimately decides to handle climate change policy, poor people will be affected. They can be included in the new clean energy economy or they can be further pushed out in the cold.
Doing nothing about climate pollution will make things worse for the poor and people of color. The result of decades of inaction on this issue has already dramatically affected their lives: from more intense hurricanes that disproportionately hit people who cannot escape the rising tide, to the higher cost of food in a fossil fuel-driven economy, to heat waves that often trap the elderly in stifling apartments.
Fortunately, the opportunities for people living in poverty are abundant if we design an effective and equitable climate policy. The House of Representatives has already taken the lead by designing clean energy policy that expands employment opportunities for households with low incomes, while investing in energy conservation measures that will allow everyone to save money on their energy bills.
The bill that passed in the House (www.grist.org/article/2009-06-26-climate-bill-senate-politics) established a key principle that Americans with low-incomes as a group must not pay higher prices due to clean energy legislation. Recognizing that families in lower income brackets simply can’t afford any additional costs, the House included provisions to lower electricity rates and also created a climate rebate for families and individuals in the lowest 20% of income that would compensate for potential increases in energy costs.
These provisions recognize that much more is needed than just electricity utility controlled compensation to ensure that families with lower incomes do not see higher costs. These climate rebates send a strong message about prioritizing households with lower incomes in federal energy policy. The house bill takes an efficient and effective approach to making sure the rebate reaches the right people by using two existing systems, the economic benefits transfer (EBT) and the Earned Income Tax Credit. These climate rebates send a strong message about the impacts of federal energy policy on households with low-incomes. Now that the Senate is becoming fully engaged in debating comprehensive climate-clean energy legislation, we urge our Senators to maintain the same commitment adopted by the House to fully protect the people with low and moderate-incomes.
While these may seem like dry policy points, the core message is this: All of us will benefit from clean jobs and climate protections. Climate laws must be written so that the poor cannot be harmed by the switch from dirty energy to clean and efficient fuel sources.
The phrase “green jobs” has become an integral part of the climate debate. This will be an exciting possibility for real change in our economy and for workers in the U.S. if the jobs created can be unionized and pay a living wage, with focus on training and employing people living in poverty. The House bill prioritized training for low-income workers and requires jobs to follow prevailing wage standards. This is why unions representing a range of workers all supported passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. We call on Senators Cantwell and Murray to fight for these same important components in the senate as the final bill is shaped.
Clean energy jobs are family-wage jobs that cannot be outsourced. They create new energy systems and make old ones more efficient. They will become an ongoing part of our national infrastructure for clean, efficient, locally produced energy. They can serve as a route out of poverty for many who are now unemployed or underemployed.
Passing climate legislation now is a necessary and crucial step to controlling greenhouse-gas emissions, protecting Earth’s ecosystems and building a new energy economy that provides opportunities for all. We can do this without causing additional harm to those already struggling to make ends meet.
As families, communities, and our nation struggle to strengthen our economic footing, enacting comprehensive federal clean energy-climate change policy provides a beacon of hope: we can act in a way that benefits our environment, our security and our future. We urge Senators Cantwell and Murray and President Obama to lead in the effort to pass climate legislation now, legislation that effectively reduces global warming pollution and protects low income families on behalf of all the people of Washington State and all the people of the world.
Aiko Schaefer is the Founding Director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network.
Kevin J. O’Brien is on the board of Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light, a non-profit organization based in Seattle and committed to engaging the religious community in environmental stewardship.