‘Solving climate change’: Speakers at SUU discuss importance of Republican engagement for solutions

CEDAR CITY — Speakers joined the Conservative Climate Forum last week to discuss climate impacts in Southern Utah and how to get conservatives engaged on climate change.

Bob Inglis, Dr. Jacqualine Grant, Tyler Melling and Paul Monroe discuss climate change at Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 13, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

The Southern Utah University Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service hosted the event in conjunction with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby in the Sharwin Smith Student Center’s Church Auditorium.

The three primary impacts of climate change in Southern Utah are increased temperatures, more extreme weather and lifestyle consequences, said Dr. Jacqualine Grant, an associate professor in SUU’s Geosciences Department and long-time conservation biologist.

In the last 100 years, Utah’s temperature has risen 2 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit, increasing the chance of extreme weather events “driven by those hotter temperatures,” including more intense wildfires, floods and drought, Grant said.

“We had a really bad drought last year and I know this particularly well because of all the work I was doing chasing native plants and pollinators around,” she said. “Many places that I would normally be able to collect native plants and get the seeds from those plants for restoration efforts were just bone dry and browner than brown.”

Additionally, people may experience lifestyle changes due to climate change, which could include paying a climate tax, changes to transportation networks or new water management strategies, Grant said.

Carbon tax

This file photo shows Ivins Reservoir well below capacity due to drought conditions, Ivins, Utah, April 13, 2021 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

Former U.S. Rep. from South Carolina Bob Inglis is also the executive director of RepublicEn where he works to engage conservatives on climate change.

“Because that’s who we think are the most indispensable partners in the indispensable nation to solving climate change,” he said.

The principle is that there must be accountability for the side effects of burning fossil fuels, Inglis said. Currently, emitters can “dump into the trash dump in the sky with no tipping fee. No charge. Free.” In comparison, many cities will charge for the landfill space a person or organization’s waste occupies.

“We think that accountability brings blessings,” he said. “Lack of accountability results in havoc. Climate change is that havoc.”

He said there are three ways to allocate the “space:” enforce climate regulations, incentivize clean energy and tax emissions. But he said the “problem” with regulation is that if emissions are regulated in the United States, companies will be encouraged to move to China.

File photo: Currently, 90% of Utah is experiencing extreme drought conditions with Southern Utah elevated to exceptional drought status. Quichapa Lake, Iron County, Utah, September 2020 | Photo courtesy of Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, St. George News

The Climate Action Tracker rated China’s policies and actions on climate change as “highly insufficient” on its website.

“You did however clean up local air,” Inglis said. “You made it so that regulations here will make it so there are fewer asthma cases in your town, longer life expectancy. It’s really great for us here in America. But you just exported those emissions and the devilish problem of climate change is emissions anywhere are climate change everywhere.”

The Inflation Reduction Act extended and expanded tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear and hydrogen power to incentivize the creation of clean energy, Inglis said. And while many republicans are interested in lowering taxes, it is not effective on a global scale, as other countries aren’t incentivized by the American tax code.

The best approach is to create a revenue-neutral, border-adjustable carbon tax, Inglis said while covering his mouth to muffle the end of his sentence.

“Don’t pay any attention to those last two words until I get out the first two compound adjectives,” he said. “OK, revenue neutral – that means we’re going to cut taxes somewhere else, an equal amount, or we’re going to dividend all the money back from the carbon tax to the citizenry. No growth of government.”

This file photo shows plastics in landfills, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of PRI-The World.org, St. George News

The government should tax what the country wants less of and untax what it wants more of, Inglis said referencing the concept of Pigovian taxes.

Because the carbon tax is “regressive” and “hurts poor people,” he said lowering income tax or paying a dividend could potentially reduce the impact on low-income households.

Additionally, by returning tax revenue to American households, individuals and families are “cushioned from the inevitable increase in energy prices,” the RepublicEN website states. Inglis added that the impact on prices would vary by location, depending on a particular area’s dependency on fossil fuels. But over time, more people are expected to choose clean energy to save money.

“And then in the liberty of enlightened self-interest, consumers lead the way to solving climate change and the free enterprise system delivers innovation,” he said.

An audience member asked Inglis how he envisions getting Democrats “on this” or if they were already in favor.

Aerial photo showing flooded neighborhoods in Enoch, Utah, Aug. 1, 2021 | Photo taken by Scott Draper, courtesy of Rob Dotson, St. George News / Cedar City News

Inglis said the proposals are similar to those advocated by former Vice President Al Gore and that he hopes the effort can “bring America together.” Additionally, he said that due to Utah’s “pioneering spirit” and societal cohesion, it is uniquely situated to help lead the country out of its “current partisan squabble.”

“In Utah, you sort of figure out a way to make it work,” he said. “That’s really what we need in America right now.”

While the “science is pretty scary,” Inglis said that climate change isn’t all doom and gloom and that there is an opportunity for young people to build a “far better world.”

To learn more about RepublicEN, click here. For more information about the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, click here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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