A group of former senior US officials from past Republican administrations has backed a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, with revenues used to pay hundreds of dollars to every American citizen each year, as the way to make the conservative case for tackling the threat of climate change. The group includes James Baker, who was Treasury secretary for President Ronald Reagan and secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush; George Shultz, who was secretary of state under Mr Reagan; Hank Paulson, who was Treasury secretary under George W Bush; Martin Feldstein, who was the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for Mr Reagan, and Greg Mankiw, who performed the same role for the younger Mr Bush.
Some of them are meeting officials from President Donald Trump’s White House on Wednesday, to present a plan for addressing global warming that they say would “embody the principles of free markets and limited government.” Their package includes a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, starting at $40 per ton, with all of the revenue recycled in dividends paid back to the public. The group, known as the Climate Leadership Council, argues that the tax, which could rise over time, would send “a powerful signal to businesses and consumers, while generating revenue to reward Americans for decreasing their collective carbon footprint.”