Sierra Club Favors a Carbon Dumping Fee to Address the Climate Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC -- This week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is planning on introducing legislation that would impose a carbon border adjustment on pollution-intensive imports.

The Sierra Club has long supported the establishment of a carbon dumping fee to encourage bold climate action across borders. Read our proposal for specific ways we believe this fee would best be designed.

In response, Sierra Club Living Economy Program Acting Director Hebah Kassem released the following statement:

“In this time of rapidly escalating climate crisis, it’s imperative that U.S. trade regulation include binding climate standards. Without a strong carbon border adjustment mechanism, corporations can easily shift their most polluting plants to countries with lower wages and weaker labor and environmental standards. This sets up a situation wherein U.S. workers lose jobs and the nation spirals further away from meeting its goals for reducing emissions that hurt communities and the climate.

“A carbon dumping fee can play a crucial role in elevating climate standards and environmental justice across the globe. Imposing a fee on imported goods whose production involves a high degree of climate and toxic pollution could make corporations less likely to outsource factories to countries with weak environmental standards.

“We welcome efforts to craft new climate-friendly trade policies that move us closer to achieving the healthy, just, and safe world we all want to see.”