James E. Hopf: There’s a market-based way to alter the climate equation

As The Bee’s Oct. 12 editorial (“Wildfires, like drought, grow more intense,” Page 6A) points out, wildfires and hurricanes are becoming more frequent and severe, and climate change is much of the reason. Scientific consensus is that human activity (through carbon-dioxide emissions) is the primary cause of climate change. Given the economic and human costs of these events, it is clear there is a tangible social cost of carbon-dioxide emissions which should be reflected in the cost of products in the market.

Putting an appropriate price on carbon-dioxide emissions, and letting the market decide how to respond, would address the global warming problem at a much lower cost than having government pick winners, impose burdensome regulations or dictate how emissions are to be reduced. Such a market-based, technology-neutral approach is also in line with conservative principles.

I urge Rep. Jeff Denham to join the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, whose objective is to develop effective solutions to climate change.

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 11:05 AM with the headline "James E. Hopf: There’s a market-based way to alter the climate equation."