Stalling the country’s transition to a clean energy economy is a priority of President-elect Donald Trump, so the onus of reducing carbon emissions is now on state and local governments and the private sector.

Hawaii has committed to achieve net-negative emissions by 2045, and we’re not alone, as Gov. Josh Green is one of 24 governors in the U.S. Climate Alliance.

Now we need to move from commitments to actions. One that would have a big impact without squeezing the budget is carbon cashback. It would put a fee on carbon pollution and use the revenues to give climate rebates to every resident. University of Hawaii estimates that emissions would drop by 13% and most families would receive more in rebates than they pay in extra energy costs.

I don’t know of any other policy that would take us so far in such a painless way.

Tom Graham

Kahala

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