Frustrated by a perceived lack of action at the state level, more Americans are planning to take their climate change arguments directly to the people through the state referendum process.
In Oregon, campaigners are gathering signatures to place several measures on the ballot for 2016. The first proposal would target Oregon’s coal-fired power plants, which currently constitute around a third of the state’s electricity portfolio. It would require a complete coal phase-out by 2030. It also would involve increasing renewable electricity output (excluding hydro) up to 50 per cent of the generating mix by 2040. A second measure would attempt to ensure compliance with these goals by linking executive compensation at major utilities with referendum benchmarks.
Washington state has two competing ballot initiatives pushing for different forms of carbon taxation. The first plan is an initiative organized by Carbon Washington, a non-partisan grassroots campaign started by environmental economist and standup comedian Yoram Bauman. It proposes introducing a $15 (U.S.) carbon tax that would increase incrementally over the next 40 years, with revenues largely being returned to consumers through rebates and reductions in the sales tax. Another group called the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, backed by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee and other major green and labour groups, is gathering signatures for a cap-and-trade program whose proceeds would be earmarked for renewable energy programs.
Down south, an unorthodox coalition of Tea Party members, environmental activists, libertarians and others have gathered under the flag of Floridians for Solar Choice, a group pushing for regulatory changes in Florida’s promising solar market that would open up opportunities for rooftop solar. Fearful of distributed power eating into their market share, state utilities have gathered together to push a competing initiative under the confusing title of Consumers for Smart Solar.
Whether or not these initiatives ultimately succeed in 2016, reformers interested in taking action are finding that clean energy is broadly popular across the political spectrum. In a March 2015 Gallup poll, 79 per cent of Americans said they believe the government should focus more on solar power, followed closely by 70 per cent supporting an expansion of wind power.
