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What I’ve learned in my years as a climate solutions advocate is that it’s very easy to find flaws with someone else’s plan to bring down carbon emissions. What is much harder is to be for it. 

I used to bristle when anyone would argue that when pricing carbon, cap and trade is better than fee and dividend.  I used to disagree when someone would say federal action is impossible, so we should focus on state and local action. 

Not anymore.

Every day I become more convinced that saying yes to ALL credible efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and solve climate change is the most essential action we can take to have a chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change.

We are long past the time when we can debate the perfect approach. The most recent report from the IPCC (the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change) stated these stark facts: we are on track to face a world of worsening food shortages, wildfires, mass die-offs of coral reefs, droughts and poverty by 2040. Avoiding this future requires transforming the world economy beginning immediately, at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”

What would happen if all of us who understand the urgent threat posed by climate change decided to say yes to any proposal that good evidence suggests will bring down greenhouse gas emissions and help contain climate change? Carbon tax or cap and trade? Yes! Renewable energy standards or clean energy subsidies? Yes! State or federal action? Yes! Fracking ban or methane leak reduction? Yes! Solar access requirements or solar tax credits? Yes! Green New Deal or Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act? Yes! Electric vehicle incentives, closing coal-fired power plants, or setting efficiency standards for new buildings? Yes!

Enacting climate solutions is a huge lift. Huge. Anything that gets passed will not be perfect. The powerful interests who profit from fossil fuels will continue to use their resources to block or slow action, and they have a lot of resources.  Therefore, all our attention right now needs to be on getting things done, not arguing with each other about why my policy is better than yours.

And the good news is that during the past 30+ years of disinformation and inaction, experts have converged on the things we can do that will work. We now have the knowledge, expert consensus, and technology to tackle climate change.   

My previous post, “Seven things we can do now to fight climate change,” shares this consensus. You can also read about expert consensus here and here. 

We know what we need to do, so let’s not let the fine print get in our way. If bold proposals are offered, consider saying yes first, and asking questions later.  The only way we will have a chance of bringing down emissions during the window that matters is if we stop trying to win with our favorite proposal and agree to agree.

And, for climate policies you just can’t support, consider my grandma’s wisdom: if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.