Who is the Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS)?
AMS is an organization of conservative leaders addressing two of America’s most pressing challenges: the need to reduce carbon pollution and grow the economy.
We respect climate change science and support replacing regulations with a revenue-neutral carbon tax—policy that would efficiently protect the environment and deregulate and grow the economy.
AMS engages directly with influential conservatives, including policymakers, to cultivate support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax. We also conduct research that demonstrates the viability and benefits of a carbon tax. These resources can be found here.
Who makes up the Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS)?
A list of AMS board members and staff can be found here.
What type of organization is the Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS)?
AMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. We do not engage in electoral politics on behalf of any candidate, campaign, or party.
How is the Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS) different from other organizations addressing similar issues?
AMS is composed of Republicans who support market-based principles, not command and control regulations, and are committed to identifying pro-growth solutions to reduce carbon pollution.
Why do Republicans need to address climate change?
Addressing climate change is critical to the economy and to the future of the Republican party. A report for the Alliance for Market Solutions reveals:
Nearly nine out of 10 millennials believe climate change is happening, and the vast majority of those believe that change is being driven by human activity.
80 percent of young voters say they are concerned about air pollution, and 77 percent say they are concerned about climate change.
Over 60 percent of young Republicans say they are concerned about air pollution, and over 50 percent say they are concerned about climate change.
What is a carbon tax?
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon content of fuels and other products and processes that generate emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
The Alliance for Market Solutions supports a revenue-neutral carbon tax policy to address climate change while promoting economic growth. Unlike regulations, a revenue-neutral carbon tax policy is a market-based solution that would allow conservative leaders to address the growing environmental concerns of voters without violating free-market principles. For more details, click here.
Why a carbon tax policy?
Economists generally agree that taxes are more efficient than regulations in reducing carbon pollution. Therefore, using a carbon tax to reduce carbon pollution achieves the same result but costs the economy less than through regulation.
Additionally, a carbon tax produces revenue that can be used to reduce other distortionary taxes and inefficient regulations, both of which hinder economic growth.
How should revenue from a carbon tax be used?
All revenue from a carbon tax should be used to reduce other, more distortionary taxes that hinder economic growth, including taxes on earnings and income. The net effect of a more efficient tax system will be economic growth. To learn more about the economic impact of a carbon tax, click here.
Would a carbon tax policy be better than other approaches?
A carbon tax is demonstrably better than a regulatory approach in terms of efficiency and cost. It would directly affect far fewer economic factors and keep government officials from interfering with private-sector decision-making.
A carbon tax policy is also superior to another commonly discussed market-oriented approach, cap-and-trade. Not only is a carbon tax easier to implement than cap-and-trade, but it also can achieve the same level of reduction in carbon emissions as a cap-and-trade system at lower cost.
Do Republicans support a carbon tax?
Republican Congressmen Carlos Curbelo (FL), Francis Rooney (FL), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) introduced carbon tax legislation in the 115th Congress—the first Republican legislation in a decade to address climate change—demonstrating that Republicans willing to lead on this issue prefer a carbon tax over regulation. Subsequently, three Republican Congressman co-sponsored the first bipartisan legislation.
The Alliance for Market Solutions collaborates with other conservative organizations to strengthen efforts to eliminate costly regulations and promote a carbon tax policy as an efficient alternative. On July 18, 2018, many of these organizations signed a letter criticizing an anti-carbon tax Congressional resolution.
Why do we need a carbon tax to reduce emissions instead of just relying on innovation?
Technological innovation is necessary to reduce carbon pollution, and a carbon tax is the most effective tool for encouraging the development of new, cleaner technologies and more energy efficient strategies across our economy. Replacing existing subsidies and targeted regulations with a revenue-neutral carbon tax would broadly stimulate a wide-range of innovation across the energy sector without the command-and-control effect of government regulations.
A recent report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation shows a carbon tax will induce innovation that will lower the cost of reducing carbon emissions. For more details, click here.
How much does each American household pay for carbon regulations?
A recent EY analysis concluded that regulatory carbon controls, if fully implemented, would cost each household $1,770 annually in the long run, while reducing carbon emissions by approximately 22 percent. However, a carbon tax that results in the same reduction in emissions would increase annual GDP by $1,170–5,090 per household in the long run. For more details, click here.