John Delaney on Energy & Oil Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from MD-6

Keep climate change separate from other issues

DELANEY: It ties its progress to other things that are completely unrelated to climate, like universal health care, guaranteed government jobs, and universal basic income. That only makes it harder to do. My plan will put a price on carbon, take all the money, give it back to the American people in a dividend. I'm going to increase the Department of Energy research budget by fivefold, because we have to innovate our way out of this problem. I'm going to create a market for direct air capture, which are machines that actually take carbon out of the atmosphere, because I don't think we'll get to net zero by 2050 unless we have those things.

Carbon pricing works; you just have to do it right

Re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement

John Delaney: "I would re-enter the Paris Agreement and make the U.S. a global leader in climate policy and new energy technology. With a carbon tax and an investment in negative emissions technology, we can reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and can be at net-zero carbon by 2050."

Fivefold increase in federal clean-energy funding

Delaney: "Yes, I have called for a fivefold increase in clean-energy research and am the only candidate calling for a massive new investment in negative emissions technology. We won't be able to get all the way to net-zero carbon without negative emissions technology taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere."

Start carbon tax at $15 per ton of CO2, & add $10 per year

Delaney: "Yes, I was a lead co-sponsor of a carbon tax bill in the Congress and have made a revenue-neutral carbon tax a centerpiece of my campaign. My plan would be to tax carbon beginning at a rate of $15 per metric ton of CO2 (or equivalent) and increasing $10 each year, and return 100 percent to the taxpayers with an option to invest the dividend into a tax-advantaged savings account like a 529 or retirement account."

Zero score on "350 Action's 2020 Climate Test"

Three candidates have made firm climate-forward commitments on all three issues:

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT)
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA)

• Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)
• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI)
• Gov. Jay Inslee (WA)
• Andrew Yang (CA)

• Donald Trump (NY)
• Former Rep. John Delaney (Md.)--Does not support the Green New Deal.
• Former Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colo.)--Does not support the Green New Deal.

Bipartisan carbon tax bill, but not the Green New Deal

At the South-by-Southwest conference, he defended that position. "It is a time for bold solutions. But we also have to put our shoulder behind things that can actually get done," he said. "Because climate is not like other issues. We have an infrastructure issue in this country. But if we wait five years to deal with our infrastructure, it's a missed opportunity. But it doesn't get exponentially worse, so we have to deal with climate change right away."

Delaney said he would get a bipartisan carbon tax bill passed in his first year as president. "We have to have a goal around climate that's realistic," he said.

Proposed carbon tax, but also invest in new technology

Co-sponsored bipartisan carbon tax bill

Align incentives so creators of CO2 emissions pay for them

Gas tax has fallen since 1993, due to inflation

The gas tax isn't indexed to inflation, however, so the value of the revenue it brings in goes down over time. And because we haven't raised the tax since 1993, a quarter century ago, the Highway Trust Fund now runs at a shortfall, which means that every five years, Congress has to scrape together some additional money to subsidize it.

Institute a revenue-neutral national carbon tax

According to a 2008 study by the Congressional Budget Office, such a tax would be the most efficient incentive-based option for reducing emissions and could be relatively simple to implement. A revenue-neutral plan will also protect families from increased energy costs.

Supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

Project Vote Smart infers candidate issue stances on key topics by summarizing public speeches and public statements. Congressional candidates are given the opportunity to respond in detail; about 11% did so in the 2012 races.

Project Vote Smart summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Environment: Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?'

Voted YES on banning offshore oil drilling in Gulf of Mexico.

Congressional Summary: House amendment to H.R. 5538, the Interior & Environment Agencies Appropriations bill for FY 2017. This amendment would prohibit funds to be used to research, investigate, or study offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Heritage Foundation recommends voting NO: (7/13/2016): The Gulf of Mexico continues to be a very important asset for our energy future and it continues to produce significant amounts of oil and natural gas. Yet the Eastern Gulf of Mexico has not participated to this point despite its significant potential. A 2014 Heritage Foundation report said: "Excessive regulations and bureaucratic inefficiencies have stymied oil production and prevented the full effects of the energy boom." This amendment would block any potential progress that could take place by preventing the necessary work that would need to be prepared in the East Gulf for potential lease sales and eventual production.

Sierra Club recommends voting YES: (1/12/1974): The Sierra Club believes that no offshore petroleum exploration should occur unless and until the following conditions are met:

• Strengthen the Coastal Zone Management System.
• Lease sales should be prohibited in areas that possess:
  • High seismic activity
  • Fragile or unstable geological structures
  • Proximity to particularly diverse or productive marine ecosystems, or marine sanctuaries
  • Where visual impact of offshore structures would significantly reduce aesthetic values
  • Where the risks are unusually high.
• Petroleum exploration and production must be subject to automatic, heavy fines for all oil spills regardless of cause.
• The Sierra Club opposes leasing of lands beyond 200 meters depth until international agreements [define] ownership of sea floor resources.

Legislative outcome: Failed House 185 to 243 (no Senate vote).

50% clean and carbon free electricity by 2030.

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should establish a national goal of more than 50 percent clean and carbon free electricity by 2030 for the purposes of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, growing our economy, increasing our shared prosperity, improving public health, and preserving our national security.

• Whereas failing to act on climate change will have a devastating impact on our Nation's economy, costing us billions of dollars in lost GDP;
• Whereas extreme weather, intensified by climate change, has already cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year in recovery efforts, and this will only continue if climate change is left unaddressed;
• Whereas climate change will have devastating public health implications, including increased asthma attacks and exacerbation of other respiratory diseases, especially in vulnerable populations;
• Whereas inaction on climate change will disproportionately impact communities of color and exacerbate existing economic inequalities;
• Whereas the transition to a clean energy economy is feasible with existing technology;
• Whereas the transition to clean energy will create millions of jobs and will increase our country's GDP and increase disposable household income;

1. Establish a national goal of more than 50 percent clean and carbon free electricity by 2030; and
2. Enact legislation to accelerate the transition to clean energy to meet this goal.