What we can do now to combat climate change

At this critical time in human history, it sometimes feels as if we are being rocked by the terrible news about climate change. Record-breaking heat waves, millennial floods, epic droughts, raging wildfires and violent storms attack us as we stand helpless and powerless. What will become of us when the worst is yet to come? It's tempting to fall into despair.

But we choose optimism and action instead. As normal people in our last years of life, we want to leave a world worth living in for our grandchildren and yours. We need a coalition of people of all ages and political views to create the political will for this livable world. We must find common ground to enact laws that will save our future climate and then pressure the world to follow our lead.

It won't be easy. The hour is late. We fear tipping points. What happens when Arctic permafrost begins to melt, releasing powerful climate-warming gases that accelerate melting in a runaway feedback loop? If such a process occurs, we humans could lose the power to control it.

Therefore, it is urgent that we quickly slow warming and eventually stop it while we still can. Carbon dioxide and the stronger but shorter-lasting climate-warming gas methane are emitted when we extract and burn coal, oil and gas. If we electrify as much of our energy use as possible and then generate that electricity from sources that don't emit these gases, we can dramatically slow warming. Congress took a big step by passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides numerous financial incentives for electrification.

But the Inflation Reduction Act alone will not stop our warming. His incentives will put us on the path away from fossil fuels, but we need to turn that path into a superhighway. We need to achieve permitting reform so that new clean energy projects are approved (or rejected) more quickly. Transmission lines must be built faster to deliver the new clean electricity to where it is needed. The bipartisan energy permitting reform bill contains measures to achieve this goal, and we should pass it. It also has policies that conserve fossil fuels, but reputable studies show it will result in significant net greenhouse gas reductions, and realism tells us it won't get through the Senate without Republican votes. We should pass it.

The bipartisan PROVE IT Act would also help. Providing verifiable data on emissions intensity would allow Congress and the President to defend U.S. industry against unfair carbon-intensive competition. It could also lead to carbon tariffs to pressure countries like China to reduce their climate-warming emissions from manufacturing aluminum, steel, cement, fertilizers and other carbon-intensive products to retain access to the U.S. market. Conservatives rightly point out that China's carbon emissions are now twice as high as our own, and that we cannot address global climate change in the United States alone.

Let us also remember the role that farmers, foresters and ranchers can play. Many want to adopt practices that increase their land's resilience to heat, drought and floods and sequester more carbon. Individuals trained as Technical Service Providers (TSPs) can teach these practices and learn how to access federal funding for the transition. So let’s meet the pent-up need for more TSPs by passing the Enhanced TSP Access Act.

Finally, we must use the power of the market to reduce our emissions through a carbon tax, the proceeds of which are refunded to all Americans. We should follow Canada's lead and implement this policy through the passage of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

Most people are now aware that the warming of our planet is having devastating consequences. Can we afford our home insurance given the damage from flooding? Can we afford rising food costs, driven in part by droughts and extreme rainfall that are causing stress for farmers? If we see these consequences now, what will life be like for our children and grandchildren when they are our age? There are strategies to limit the warming of our planet. But we need to step up our game, take this issue more seriously and implement these strategies now.

It's an election year. The future of our grandchildren is on the ballot. Vote!

Cheryl Arney of Ellicott City and Chris Wiegard of Chester, Virginia, are Citizens' Climate Lobby volunteers.