A Climate Plan That Puts America First
Developed by President Reagan’s Right-Hand Men
The Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan
A market-driven strategy, built around bedrock conservative principles. A winning plan to unleash American innovation and entrepreneurship, promote clean and abundant energy, boost domestic manufacturing, and ensure continued American prosperity.
Co-Authored By
James A. Baker III
White House Chief of Staff & Treasury Secretary to President Ronald Reagan
“Ronald Reagan’s most important lieutenant.”
George P. Shultz
Secretary of State to President Ronald Reagan
“One of the great statesmen of the 20th century and one of the greatest Americans of our time.” -Mitch McConnell
Martin S. Feldstein
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Ronald Reagan
“A towering figure. Few economists in modern memory can rival his impact.”
And Other Leading Conservatives
Including N. Gregory Mankiw (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President George W. Bush) and Henry M. Paulson, Jr. (Secretary of Treasury to President George W. Bush)
“A Who’s Who of GOP Luminaries”
The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends
Read the History-Making Report
Hear from Two of the Co-Authors
James A. Baker III
Secretary of State, President George H.W. Bush
Secretary of Treasury, President Ronald Reagan
Chief of Staff, President George H.W. Bush
Chief of Staff, President Ronald Reagan
N. Gregory Mankiw
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, President George W. Bush
Chair Emeritus of the Economics Department, Harvard University
Author of the US’ Best-Selling Economics Textbook
The Baker-Shultz Plan
The TED Talk (1.5 Million+ Views)
Carbon Dividends
One Plan. Economy-Wide Innovation.
1) Price Carbon
The Single-Best Innovation Accelerator
A clear market signal that gives businesses the green light to develop and deploy new technologies. This would level the playing field for energy competition and unleash the greatest force on earth—American innovation—toward a cleaner and more prosperous future.
2) Rebate the Revenue
Benefit the American People (not the Government)
Rebate all revenue from the carbon price directly the American people in the form of carbon dividends. This would keep government small and ensure that the vast majority of Americans win financially from solving the climate challenge.
3) Roll Back Regulations
Unleash American Entrepreneurs and Innovators
Remove burdensome regulations, and free up the American economy to generate clean, abundant energy. This would ensure that all businesses get a chance to compete and that market forces—not government bureaucrats—lead the way forward with innovation and entrepreneurship.
4) Compel Other Countries to Follow Our Lead
Put American Manufacturers First
Hold other countries accountable for their pollution. This would enhance America’s economic competitiveness, compel other nations to reduce emissions, and ensure US businesses win the technological arms race over the energy of the future (and the jobs that come with it).
“Ingenious”
“A Better Remedy for Climate Change: Less Government and Less Pollution”
Capitalism Cures
Assuming a starting price of just $0.02 per pound of CO2, the carbon dividends plan would deliver more than 3x the emissions reductions of all previous regulations combined. It would even exceed the US commitment under the Paris Accords. This demonstrates the inherent wisdom and superiority of a market-based solution.
Emission Reductions of Baker-Shultz Plan vs. Other Paths
“We see the science, but we also see the economics. That’s why we’re not just showing up with a plan. We’re showing up with a better plan.”
— Grayson Massey, Western Regional Vice Chair, Young Republican National Federation
The Carbon Dividends solution would unleash the greatest force on earth—American innovation—toward a cleaner and more prosperous future.
“You bet free enterprise can solve climate change…We can create a new energy future that has lots of jobs and lots of wealth creation, and that lights up with world with more energy, more mobility, and more freedom.”
—Bob Inglis, (Fmr. Congressman (R-SC4) and Executive Director of RepublicEn)
“A climate plan that showcases the full power of enduring conservative convictions and embodies the principles of free markets and limited government."
— James A. Baker III (Secretary of State to President H.W. Bush)
Supported by American Industry Leaders and Job Creators From Across the Country
“The U.S. is locked in a technological arms race with other nations that are determined to own the future of energy and the jobs that come with it. That is a race we must win.”
-Exelon (America’s largest operator of nuclear power)
“The United States cannot remain the world’s foremost power if it is not also its leading energy innovator.”
-James A. Baker III and George P. Shultz (2020 Article in Foreign Affairs)
Putting America First
The Baker-Shultz Plan Would Hold Foreign Countries Accountable For Their Emissions and Put American Manufacturers First
Carbon Dividends
Endorsed by the Largest Statement of Economists in American History
Including Every Former Republican Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers
Carbon Dividends
The only climate strategy endorsed by EVERY former Republican Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (representing every GOP administration in the last half-century)
# of Chief Economic Advisers to Republican Presidents who Support Carbon Dividends
8
(All)
# of Chief Economic Advisers to Republican Presidents who Oppose Carbon Dividends
0
(Literally None)
“This is a turning point in Republican climate policy, where the GOP economic brain trust unites behind the carbon dividends plan."
— Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi), Fmr. Republican Senate Majority Leader
Testimonials
“Business people don’t innovate because it feels good; they innovate because there’s a return to that innovation. If you want a return to that innovation…you need to put a price on carbon.”
— R. Glenn Hubbard (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President George W. Bush)
“A true market-based solution…It is a good idea. It is an idea that would work. And it’s an idea that should be politically supported.”
— Martin Feldstein (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Ronald Reagan)
“It is capitalism with all of its creative and entrepreneurial powers that is our only hope of steering clear of the looming climate shock.”
— Martin Weitzman & Gernot Wagner (Fmr. Harvard Economists)
“There is a complete consensus among economists that putting a price on carbon is the right thing to do.”
— N. Gregory Mankiw (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President George W. Bush)
[The Carbon Dividends Plan] is “a sensible, balanced way to address a very real problem facing our nation and the world.”
— Christine Todd Whitman (Fmr. Republican Governor)
“The environmental debt is at least as dangerous as the fiscal debt that we are leaving younger generations of Americans…
The most simple, most transparent, and most honest solution is a price on carbon.”
— Carlos Curbelo (Fmr. Congressman, R-FL26, and Co-Founder of the House Climate Solutions Caucus)
“I’m a Republican. I believe that the greenhouse effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is warming…A price on carbon—that’s the way to go.”
—Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
“Put a price on carbon and then automatically the right thing happens. It is really straightforward.”
— Elon Musk (Founder of Tesla and SpaceX)
A revenue-neutral carbon pollution fee is “the most efficient means of reflecting the cost of carbon in all economic decisions — from investments made by companies to fuel requirements to the product choices made by consumers.”
— Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State to President Trump & Former CEO of ExxonMobil)
A revenue-neutral carbon fee is a “a no-regrets policy” that “would create economy-wide incentives for energy efficiency and lower-carbon energy.”
— Kevin Hassett (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Trump)
“We Republicans should be leading the conversation on the climate solutions and energy policies that will define the 21st century.”
— Joseph Pinion III (GOP strategist and Fox News commentator)
“A carbon price would send a powerful market signal that encourages technological innovation.”
— Hank Paulson Jr. (Treasury Secretary, President George W. Bush)
“Carbon pricing offers the most cost-effective and fiscally conservative solution and would unlock all facets of clean-energy innovation.”
—George P. Shultz (Secretary of State, President Ronald Reagan)
The Carbon Dividends solution "would strengthen the economy, help working-class Americans, and promote national security, all while reducing regulations and shrinking the size of government.”
—James A. Baker III (Treasury Secretary & Chief of Staff, President Ronald Reagan)
“In economic policy, there is nothing more sound than a program that corrects market failures, reduces regulation, is revenue-neutral and incentivizes all Americans to make better consumer choices. The carbon dividends plan achieves all four.”
— N. Gregory Mankiw (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President George W. Bush)
“Climate change is an increasingly destabilizing force in the world, putting at risk our economic and national security interests. The U.S. should lead the way in addressing this problem, and the Baker Shultz Carbon Dividends plan is a great place to start.”
— Jim Mattis (Secretary of Defense to President Trump)