Quote:James Baker, 86, traveled to Washington as part of a newly formed coalition that includes former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton to press President Donald Trump to back a proposal that would place a tax on carbon emissions and then return that money to U.S. taxpayers through a dividend payment.

Waiting for his flight back to Houston on Wednesday after a meeting at the White House, Baker said Trump's National Economic Council director, Gary Cohn, didn't give an immediate response, but "I think they're going to look at it."

"If you're a Republican, there's a lot to like," Baker said. "The risks are so great if the greenies are right. You need an insurance policy, and this is a damn fine free market, conservative, less-regulation proposal. It's very simple, and it will work."

Baker's support for a carbon tax enlivens a longstanding policy debate that to date has failed to find much if any traction among elected officials from either party.