A CARBON TAX WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO GET THROUGH A REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED HOUSE. ARE THERE SOME AREAS WHERE YOU SEE A REALISTIC HOPE IN CONGRESS FOR BI-PARTISANSHIP? ENERGY EFFICIENCY? CLIMATE ADAPTATION? I think the most effective pieces of bipartisan action are probably going to be in the area of encouraging efficiency and encouraging financing of efficiency investments that pay themselves back over time. I think there's a clear market logic for doing that. And industry by industry, there'll be advocates for it. Commercial real estate interests, I'd think, would be very interested in finding ways to finance upfront investments in boilers, windows, more efficient means of generating the power that their facility needs.
Federal guarantees to help prop up that market while it matures are a good idea.
Topics:
This Just In
, Washington, Sheldon Whitehouse, climate change
