OPINION: Alaska’s future leaders support bipartisan climate action

In Alaska, climate risks are mounting. Each year, our permafrost thaws and the best research indicates we’re warming faster than any other state. Our glaciers are receding, storms are intensifying, and the snow crabs have vanished from our waters.

As young Alaskans, we can sense the grave importance of acting soon to protect our way of life from the worst of climate change. To meet this challenge, student leaders from across Alaska are rallying around a promising solution, known as carbon rebates, to conserve the environment and ensure other countries do their part.

At the recent Alaska Association of Student Governments convention this past fall, hundreds of student leaders from across the state made this declaration in unison. The resolution, “Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Solutions,” passed with unanimous support. Notably, we are not simply affirming the reality of climate change, but rather moving the conversation forward by promoting bipartisan, concrete solutions.

As we met with student leaders representing every corner of the state — from Ketchikan to Nome and Fairbanks to Kodiak — we have developed an appreciation for climate solutions that can appeal to everyone. These areas of common ground are a much-needed reprieve from the polarization currently dominating American politics. And, importantly, they offer viable pathways forward to address climate change and strengthen our economy.

In particular, one solution stands out for its environmental protection, economic benefits and bipartisan appeal. The plan the Alaska Association of Student Governments endorsed, carbon rebates, would significantly reduce emissions without growing the size of the government or increasing the deficit. And it has support from the resource development industry, Alaska business leaders, conservatives, and the rising generation of Alaska students.

The solution would charge fossil fuel companies a fee for their emissions and rebate the revenue to American families. By creating a level playing field and unleashing the American economy, a carbon rebates plan would spur $1.4 trillion in private-sector investment and reduce harmful carbon emissions by half over the next 15 years. It would be a win for the environment, and a boost to the economy.

The carbon rebates solution also includes a “pollution import fee,” which would hold other countries accountable for their emissions. Currently, no penalty exists for producing goods overseas with high emissions and shipping them to the United States. A pollution import fee would fix this unfair trade disparity, and hold foreign countries to the same environmental standards that American businesses already comply with. On average, domestic producers make their goods much cleaner than foreign competitors, so once we even the playing field to account for emissions, America will benefit. Alaska, in particular, does things better and cleaner than anywhere else in the world, and a pollution import fee would vault its resource development industry forward for the progress it’s made.

Additionally, a pollution import fee will drive significant international climate progress by compelling high-emitters like China to consider the cost of their pollution. Given that 87% of global emissions are produced beyond our shores, the ability for a carbon rebate to lower international emissions should be welcomed and highlighted.

Late last year, foreign leaders struggled to find common ground at COP27, the UN conference on climate change. But just before that, our state’s student leaders gathered in Wasilla, and identified the common-sense approach to Alaska climate leadership: charge companies for their emissions, rebate all the revenue to Alaskan families, and hold foreign polluters accountable. Beyond mere promises, as has become fashion at United Nations gatherings, the approach endorsed at the meeting in Wasilla embraced concrete, effective solutions. Now, we look to our leaders, particularly Alaska’s congressional delegation -- Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as well as Rep. Mary Peltola -- to hear our voices, lead and chart a bipartisan path forward to address climate change.

Finding these common-sense climate solutions is a top priority for my generation, and critical to preserving our state’s way of life. Our generation may not be old enough to vote yet, but that’s not stopping us from speaking out and promoting bipartisan, concrete solutions.

Wilson Wade and Olivia Smith are both students at North Pole High School. Both are members of the Alaska Association of Student Government.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.