Climate Justice

Global climate change is a potentially catastrophic problem. Unchecked climate change will disrupt people’s access to the basic elements of life – food, water, shelter, and health. Because greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are nearly always the result of economic activities, economic policy will play a key role in any effort to mitigate climate change. The size and imminence of the danger from climate change calls for using all potential levers of economic policy—at all levels of government—to reorient economic activity away from GHG emissions. This transition must be guided by principles of racial equity and economic justice that protect, support, and empower working people and highly impacted communities.

Publications

Efficient Power, Good Jobs

Ohio needs a more sustainable energy strategy for its industrial sector. There is growing recognition this energy strategy should revolve around greater deployment of combined heat and power (“CHP”) technology — a much more efficient and reliable way to meet both the heat and power needs of manufacturers.

The industrial sector consumes one-third of all energy used in the state, more so even than the transportation sector.[1] Manufacturers burn fossil fuels on-site to heat metals and chemicals and – separately – purchase electricity from the grid to light their factories and power electric motors, welding tools, conveyer belts, and the like. In 2014, Ohio manufacturers spent $8.9 billion on energy, including $3.3 billion for electricity.

Electricity purchased from the grid, however, is generated and distributed inefficiently by electric monopolies relying on outdated coal-fired power plants and an antiquated grid. Ohio’s electric utility companies waste two out of every three lumps of coal they burn — the energy lost during generation, transmission and distribution of electric power.

Inflated electric prices, due to massive energy waste in the electric power sector, hurts Ohio manufacturers’ ability to compete in the new global economy. And because Ohio’s electric utilities burn three times more coal than is needed, the electric power sector is responsible for almost half of all carbon pollution in the state (45 percent).[2] In fact, Ohio’s electric power sector emits more sulfur dioxide pollution than electric utilities of any other state. Ohio ranks fourth in the nation for nitrous oxide emissions and fifth for carbon dioxide.

In addition to carbon pollution’s contribution to climate change, pollutants from Ohio power plants are responsible for thousands of cases of respiratory disease, asthma attacks, and premature deaths. These disproportionately burden the poor. [3] Eight out of every ten coal-fired power plants in Ohio are in communities with high concentrations of low-income families.

Clean energy freeze hurts home weatherization efforts

Ohio’s 2014 freeze of its energy-efficiency standards reduced electric utility home-weatherization efforts for low-income households by 26 percent. Weatherization services reduce need for struggling families to seek utility payment assistance plans, reduce costs of ratepayer-funded assistance programs and create job opportunities in Ohio’s energy economy.

These are the findings of a study released by Policy Matters Ohio and NextGen Climate America, in partnership with Green for All and Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy.

Carbon Program Revenues Should Invest in Working Families Tax Rebate

Our policy analyst, Elena Hernandez, testified yesterday before the House Appropriations Committee in support of the Carbon Accountability Act (HB 1314). This act would put a cap on carbon pollution and require polluters to purchase carbon allowances (permits), catalyzing an economic shift toward a low-carbon economy while generating over $1 billion in new revenue for Washington state. Elena’s testimony focused specifically on the Working Families Tax Rebate (WFTR), one of several investments included in the carbon bill that would help communities with lower incomes.

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy is essential for the future well-being of all Washingtonians, but the effects of this transition will not be felt equally. Communities with lower incomes – a disproportionate number of whom are people of color – are the first and worst hit by both the health and economic effects of carbon pollution. They are also the least equipped to adapt to the low-carbon economy of the future. Fully funding the Working Families Tax Rebate is a step toward ensuring that in our efforts to confront climate change, we are also creating an inclusive 21st century economy.

Working Families Tax Rebate Will Help All Washingtonians Participate in the Low-Carbon Economy

The importance of funding the Working Families Tax Rebate (WFTR), a Washington state version of the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), should not be overlooked. As one of the many new investments for communities with lower incomes included in Governor Inslee’s proposals to reduce carbon pollution, the benefits of the WFTR would be widespread throughout Washington state, but would be most pronounced in rural communities and communities of color (see map below).

Going forward, it is critical that policymakers ensure all Washingtonians are able to thrive in the low-carbon economy of the future. Without investments like the WFTR, people with lower incomes will continue to shoulder growing economic and health costs associated with climate change. And, they be will not be able to afford the clean energy infrastructure needed to reduce their consumption of costly, carbon-intensive gasoline and electricity sources.