Political Engagement

The Citizens Climate Lobby have a workable plan for dealing with climate change. First they came up with a policy that would appeal to both the left and right of the political spectrum, and now they are in the process of walking politicians in each electorate through the policy in a series of face to face meetings.

You can read about it in detail on their website but the policy is essentially is to put a price on carbon at the source then distribute whatever funds are raised equally across every household in the country.  They call it a ‘fee and dividend’ scheme. It appeals to the right because nothing goes to the government (it is not a tax in the traditional sense) and it appeals to the left because the poorer you are the greater will be the impact of the payment.  The proposal is to start at $15/tonne and increase it by $10 a year.

The CCL started in the US but has aspirations to go international. In Australia groups are forming each day you can learn more on the Australian website . The organisation is well funded and well supported by some big names in business, politics and science. In the words of Dr James Hansen, “If you want to join the fight to save the planet for your grandchildren, there is no more effective step you could take than becoming a member of this group”

A good place to start would be to read the material on their website which covers in great detail the practicalities of the scheme, backed up by an analysis by an independent group of experts. The material is covered in a series of Laser Talks (just as a laser is powerful and focused, a laser talk is a brief but powerful statement on a particular topic.)

For more on the work of other climate activist organisations, see links below.