On April 10, the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law hosted former Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC), executive director of , for the talk “Can Free Enterprise Solve Climate Change?”
Former Rep. Inglis represented Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the U.S. Congress from 1993-1998, and again from 2005-2010. During that time he developed a conservative reputation, but also became a proponent of more urgent action to address global climate change. During his talk, Inglis discussed his political career, how he came to care about climate change as an issue, and why believes that a carbon tax is the most sensible and effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After leaving Congress, Inglis launched the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (“E&EI”) at George Mason University, and the organization was later rebranded to become . For his work on climate change, Inglis was given the 2015 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He appears in the film Merchants of Doubt and in the Showtime series Years of Living Dangerously. Inglis has also served as a resident fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics in 2011, a visiting energy fellow at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in 2012, and a resident fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics in 2014.
According to Inglis, a carbon tax would be more effective than relying upon traditional environmental regulations. During his talk he explained why he believes pairing a carbon tax with an offsetting payroll tax cut would reduce U.S. emissions while benefiting most Americans, especially lower-income workers, by increasing take-home pay and encouraging cleaner choices. He also argued that such a policy would put greater economic pressure on countries like China to adopt their own carbon taxes, leveling the playing field and spreading climate action worldwide.