Letter to the editor: Jobs for displaced fossil-fuel workers

In a recent Associated Press article, the International Energy Agency reported that the worldwide emissions of methane last year equaled the carbon dioxide emissions of the entire European Union. Methane is much more efficient at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2.

As the United States rejoins the rest of the world in implementing solutions to the planetary climate crisis, we must make sure that those who have been employed by the fossil-fuel industry are not left behind as we move to a “green energy economy.” One of the best ways to assure that is to put them to work plugging the millions of abandoned oil and gas wells throughout the country so they don’t leak methane.

And the next best step to get the country back on track to reduce fossil-fuel emissions is to quickly pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA) when it is reintroduced in Congress. The legislation places an increasing fee on those emissions at the source (mine, well, port of entry) and returns the proceeds to all Americans as a monthly dividend. For most families, the dividend checks will more than offset the increased cost of carbon-based products. Learn more about EICDA at energy innovationact.org.

So let’s plug in displaced fossil-fuel workers to stop the methane leaks and plug in the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act to get the United States back in the lead in the struggle against the global climate crisis.

Bruce Cooper

Cranberry Township