Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis to Speak at UH

Inglis Promotes Free-Market Approaches to Climate Change

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis will bring his effort to push a carbon tax and other free-market approaches to addressing climate change to the University of Houston.

The South Carolina Republican will speak at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Hilton University of Houston Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom.

The talk, co-sponsored by UH Energy and the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center at UH Law Center, will be followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by former center director Tracy Hester.  BobInglis

It is free and open to the public. RSVP at uhenergy.eventbrite.com.

Inglis, who represented South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District for 12 years, founded the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, based at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., in 2012.  

“Bob Inglis brings a different perspective to the debate about climate change and energy production,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, chief energy officer at UH. “Too often, politics precludes serious debate on solutions. Whether people agree with his policy recommendations or not, they will come away better informed.”

Since losing his bid for re-election in 2010, Inglis has worked to persuade other conservatives to back a carbon tax and other initiatives, including ending subsidies for all fuels and returning carbon-tax revenue to taxpayers through a dividend or dollar-for-dollar cut in other taxes.

“Bob Inglis, at great personal cost, took a strong public stand in favor of revenue-neutral carbon taxation when it was politically unpopular to even say the words ‘tax’ or ‘climate change,’’’ said Hester, professor of practice at UH Law Center. “While the national discussion about climate change remains mired in partisanship, his proposal offers an interesting example of a conservative and free enterprise approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”