I applaud the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s efforts to hold industry accountable for its contribution to climate change (“SEC rule would require public companies to disclose climate risks,” June 17). This proposal stipulates that companies explain how extreme weather events affect their finances, lay out plans for reducing climate risks and outline progress made in meeting climate-related goals. As a grandparent, I worry about the world we are leaving behind for our youth. According to environmental scientists and activists including Katharine Hayhoe and Pam Kiely, it is not hard to see that the planet we might pass along to our youth may not be a livable one. We are already seeing dwindling water supplies, increased wildfires and food shortages throughout the world. It pains me to see that governors Greg Abbott (R-Texas) and Doug Ducey (R-Arizona) oppose the proposal as an unduly harsh penalty on oil and gas companies. This kind of status quo thinking enables these industries to continue to contribute to potential planet-wide disaster. Along with the SEC’s carbon accountability system, the proposed Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would establish a separate market-based solution for creating a carbon neutral economy. This legislation would impose fees for industrial reliance on fossil fuels, and return those fees (minus administrative costs) to Americans. Both the SEC’s proposal and the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would give industry incentives to join private citizens in the fight against a climate crisis our children could face.
Jack McGlasson, Portland
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