Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
This week, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday and a favorite for most American families because it celebrates the good fortune that those who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean found in the New World: a land of plenty, a land of opportunity and a land that was inhabited by people who welcomed (after a fashion) immigrants to their shores who were in search of a better tomorrow. History has shown that the best laid celebration plans often went awry but the spirit of the holiday has endured since those early celebrations in the 1600s.
It took 500 years or so to get to this place, but celebrating the goodness of the Earth with all of its bounty is becoming more of a challenge. That challenge is called climate change. And it is well past time for people across the globe to come together to create solutions to the dangers that man and nature have wrought.
As we prepare to celebrate this week with great food and warm family traditions, Mauricia Baca, director of the Nature Conservancy in Nevada, and Jason Albritton, director of climate and energy policy at the Nature Conservancy, give us some practical food for thought as the entire country tries to rise to the existential challenge before us. Just as strangers in a new world came together to celebrate a healthy harvest so many centuries ago, perhaps what our writers propose will help us all find a way to continue to enjoy the bounty of the only home we know — Earth.
Their words follow.
— Brian Greenspun
Heat. Drought. Hazy, smoky skies. The bathtub ring around Lake Mead. In Nevada, these now familiar and increasingly exacerbated conditions signal that the effects of climate change are here and hitting our homes and economy. Not only do we need to take climate action now, we need to act boldly. Fortunately, we have an incredible opportunity at our doorstep.
With the Build Back Better Act, Congress is considering major initiatives to address root causes of climate change, among other serious issues. While nothing is final and intense negotiations are ongoing, the policies currently on the table would make important progress toward getting us where we need to be to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions 50% by 2030.
One top climate priority should be extending and reforming existing tax credits for clean energy, energy efficiency, advanced manufacturing and electric vehicles, and to establish new incentives for electric transmission and energy storage. Providing long-term certainty of at least 10 years and maximizing flexibility in these tax credits has the potential to cut U.S. power sector emissions by 64% to 73% below 2005 levels by 2031.
In Nevada, this means more opportunity to grow the clean energy industry and jobs. Tax credits could also spur cleanup and redevelopment of closed mine and industrial sites. As part of the tax credits proposal, Nevada’s own Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is championing the creation of an increased tax credit for companies who build their renewable energy projects on previously disturbed land.
As a mining state with many retired mine and industrial lands, Nevada could benefit significantly. Placing renewable energy on these sites would spur cleanup, help the economies of local communities and avoid development of untouched lands that are important for nature, history and culture.
A modest economywide fee on carbon pollution is another key element that should be part of the final bill. Setting a price on carbon would unleash one of our most efficient tools for tackling climate change — the market. It would drive further investments in renewable energy and related infrastructure while also spurring adoption of new technologies across other sectors. For example, if it is more expensive to release carbon dioxide into the air, then individual carbon polluters, like lime and cement plants, would have incentive to switch to cleaner processes or add technologies to capture carbon dioxide from their emissions stream and permanently store it underground.
Similarly, direct air-capture systems that can be integrated with geothermal and solar energy to remove carbon dioxide from the air also make better financial sense when there is a cost to carbon pollution. There are many creative and equitable ways to do this, and Nevada can be an innovation leader in all of these new markets.
Other funding under consideration would complement the tax credits and carbon polluter fee in addressing climate change. Investments in clean-energy infrastructure, commercialization of low-carbon technologies, worker training and technical support for companies that want to make the switch will ensure we have the tools and the workforce necessary to transition to a clean-energy economy. Forest restoration programs and tribal resilience grants will help protect Nevada communities from catastrophic wildfire and other climate change effects. And investments to address the needs of underserved communities will help those who are affected the worst by climate change and bear a disproportionate burden of pollution.
For Nevada, it seems that climate change has outsized effects. Reno and Las Vegas are two of the fastest warming cities in the country. Extreme drought is stressing our plants and wildlife across the state, which is already the most arid in the country. At the same time, Nevada is at the forefront of climate action. The state has made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
We need Congress to act now and match the bold climate action that our state has made.
Having passed in the House of Representative, we ask Nevada’s senators to support strong climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act. The future of people and nature depend on it.
