Climate Leadership Council

Climate Leadership Council
source
Name	Climate Leadership Council
Type	Nonprofit think tank
Founded	2017
Founders	James A. Baker III, Ernest Moniz, Gregory Mankiw
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region	United States
Focus	Climate policy, carbon pricing, conservative climate solutions
Key people	James A. Baker III (Chair), Ernest Moniz (Co-chair), Gregory Mankiw (Co-chair)

Climate Leadership Council is a policy organization established to advance market-based solutions to greenhouse gas emissions through a carbon pricing framework. It brings together former public officials, corporate executives, and economists to promote a bipartisan carbon dividend plan designed to reduce emissions and return revenue to citizens. The organization engages with legislators, industry groups, and international actors to shape climate policy debates in the United States and beyond.

History and founding

Founded in 2017, the organization grew out of discussions among senior statesmen and policy experts convened after the 2016 United States presidential election. Founders included former statesmen from the George H. W. Bush administration, George W. Bush administration, and figures from the Obama administration who sought a market-oriented approach similar to precedents in British Columbia and Sweden. Early leadership featured former United States Secretary of State James A. Baker III, former United States Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, and economist Gregory Mankiw, all of whom had participated in high-level policy forums such as The Smithsonian Institution conferences and meetings at Harvard University and Stanford University. The group positioned itself within a broader lineage of U.S. policy initiatives including the Kirkpatrick-Bailey carbon proposals and debates following the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.

Mission and goals

The stated mission is to design and advocate for a carbon-pricing system that combines emissions reduction with economic competitiveness and social equity. The council aims to influence legislation in the United States Congress, inform rulemaking at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, and shape international discourse at forums such as the G7 summit and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its goals reflect priorities voiced in reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and recommendations by economists affiliated with National Bureau of Economic Research and academic centers at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Carbon dividend proposal

Central to the council’s platform is the carbon dividend proposal: a gradually increasing carbon fee imposed at the source on fossil fuel producers, with revenue returned to households as a monthly or quarterly dividend. The design draws on carbon-pricing mechanisms in European Union Emissions Trading System, British Columbia, and proposals from economists including William D. Nordhaus and N. Gregory Mankiw. The plan pairs a border carbon adjustment to address competitiveness concerns with regulatory simplification aimed at replacing certain Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The proposal was formalized in a public-facing white paper and a one-page plan endorsed by signatories from the cabinets of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump administrations.

Governance and funding

The organization is governed by a board of directors and an advisory council composed of former elected officials, corporate leaders, and academic economists. Prominent board members and advisors have included former cabinet officials from the George W. Bush administration and executives from major corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Funding has come from philanthropic foundations, corporate donors, and individual contributions, with disclosed supporters drawing comparisons to funding models used by institutions such as the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. The council has published annual reports on funding while maintaining partnerships with universities including Harvard Kennedy School and think tanks such as Resources for the Future.

Policy influence and advocacy

The council has engaged in active advocacy through meetings with members of the United States Congress, testimony before congressional committees, and policy briefs circulated to staffers in both parties. It has sought to build coalitions across organizations like the Business Roundtable, energy companies in the ExxonMobil and BP portfolios, and conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy. Internationally, it has participated in dialogues at the World Economic Forum and consultations tied to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The council has produced modeling analyses and collaborated with academic teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University to estimate emissions trajectories and economic impacts.

Reception and criticism

Reception has been mixed: the plan received endorsements from prominent conservatives, former cabinet members, and business leaders while drawing criticism from progressive environmental organizations including Sierra Club and labor groups such as the AFL–CIO. Critics have argued the dividend could be insufficient to fund large-scale investments championed by advocates of a Green New Deal associated with figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. Others, including scholars at Columbia University and policy analysts at Center for American Progress, questioned assumptions about regulatory rollback and the effectiveness of border adjustments. Debates have also referenced economic modeling by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and cost-benefit frameworks used by Office of Management and Budget analysts.

Impact and outcomes

The council influenced discussions on carbon pricing within Republican circles and contributed to policy proposals presented to members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Its one-page plan served as a reference point for bipartisan dialogues and informed drafts of legislative text in congressional staff workflows. While no national carbon dividend law has been enacted, the council’s advocacy helped normalize market-oriented climate policy among business leaders and former officials, comparable to earlier influence campaigns by institutions such as Resources for the Future and World Resources Institute. Subnational jurisdictions and corporations have cited the council’s framework in developing internal carbon strategies and participating in carbon markets linked to Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and other cap-and-trade programs.

Category:Environmental organizations based in the United States