Capitol Hill Briefing on Enacting Effective Climate Policy

WASHINGTON, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released
by the Carbon Tax Center, Climate Crisis Coalition and Citizens Climate
Lobby:

WHAT? An expert briefing on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and their
staffs, NGOs, and journalists on enacting meaningful climate legislation in
the wake of a narrow plurality for the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill in the
House and uncertain prospects for it in the Senate. Briefers will address the
science, economics and politics of how we get from the currently divided House
and compromised bill to a better architecture and brighter prospects for
legislation that can gather wide support and actually be effective in
preventing catastrophic climate change.

WHO? Speakers include:
-- Dr. James Hansen, NASA lead climate scientist, speaking on the science
of climate change and the urgency of enacting better climate
legislation.
-- Dr. Robert Shapiro, economist and former Undersecretary of Commerce
during the Clinton administration, on the politics and economics of
cap-and-trade and how direct pricing of carbon can avoid the
volatility
and gaming while driving innovation and efficiency.
-- Cecil Corbin-Mark, policy director of WeACT for Environmental Justice,
based in West Harlem, New York City, on how a direct carbon fee
approach
can help our communities and gain popular support for building the
green
economy on a platform of economic justice.
-- Professor Janet Milne of Vermont Law School, on the recent Canadian
experience with carbon pricing. British Columbia enacted an effective
and politically viable carbon tax, after which incumbents were
reelected.

-- Moderator: Brent Blackwelder, president, Friends of the Earth

WHEN?Monday, July 13, 1 p.m.

WHERE?Room 208/209,Capitol Visitors Center, 100 E Capitol St NE, Washington,
DC

WHY? The overwhelming consensus among climate scientists is that we must act
boldly to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily from fossil
fuel burning. The overwhelming consensus among economists is that carbon
pricing is the most powerful tool to accomplish this. A direct carbon pricing
approach has the potential to gain bipartisan support as the most effective,
fairest and most easily implemented way for the U.S. to lead the world into a
low-carbon economy without massive bureaucracy, huge unregulated markets or
the gaming and fraud that plague cap/trade systems.

RSVPs welcome. Journalists, members of Congress and their staffs can attend
without RSVP but should bring credentials. Box lunch will be served.

Sources:Climate Crisis Coalition www.climatecrisiscoalition.org
Carbon Tax Center www.carbontax.org
Citizens Climate Lobby www.citizensclimatelobby.org

SOURCE Climate Crisis Coalition; Citizens Climate Lobby; Carbon Tax Center

Stephen Kent, +1-914-589-598, skent@kentcom.com, or James Handley,
+1-202-546-5692, jashand@juno.com, both of the Carbon Tax Center