After Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY), and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) introduced the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s Future (CLEAN Future) Act on March 2, a diverse array of organizations came out in strong support of the legislation. Following is a sample of what is being said about this ambitious climate bill:
Natural Resources Defense Council : “The CLEAN Future Act is urgently needed; it harnesses our ingenuity, resources and determination at the scale needed to curb the growing climate crisis. It will invest in good-paying jobs for workers transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean transportation and energy. It will strive to shield communities from health and economic harm wrought by climate change. And it will send an unmistakable signal to our children and future generations we won’t doom them to ever-worsening droughts, floods, wildfires, extreme heat and punishing storms."
BlueGreen Alliance : “The bill introduced today includes important provisions to ensure that our nation is building a clean economy that works for all. The crises of climate change and income inequality are intrinsically linked and this bill makes clear that we cannot successfully tackle one while disregarding the other. The CLEAN Future Act lays a solid foundation, but there is much work to be done and we look forward to working with the committee to strengthen this bill moving forward."
Environmental Defense Fund : “By focusing on solutions across the economy to cut climate pollution, the CLEAN Future Act gives us a historic chance to create jobs and healthier communities and build a more secure and equitable future for our children. It’s critical the U.S. build on existing progress in reducing emissions and lock-in deep cuts over the next ten years to put us on a path toward a clean future. As this and related bills move forward, it is especially important that these bills guarantee carbon pollution from the power sector is cut by 80% below 2005 levels by 2030. This is consistent with leading company commitments- and is not only achievable, but essential for achieving our economy-wide goals."
League of Conservation Voters : “We commend Chairmen Pallone, Tonko and Rush for putting forth the first comprehensive climate bill in a decade. We appreciate the increased ambition in the CLEAN Future Act, especially the focus on reaching 100% clean electricity by 2035 and the investment of $25 billion over the next decade in clean electric school buses with a focus on targeting investments in Black, Indigenous and communities of color and low income communities most harmed by toxic pollution. We look forward to digging into this comprehensive legislation and working with the Energy & Commerce committee as they refine and advance this legislation. We must tackle the climate crisis at the scale and pace required in a manner that addresses racial and social inequality, centers environmental justice and creates good, family-sustaining, union jobs."
American Clean Power Association : “We commend the House Energy and Commerce Committee for proposing robust climate legislation. The clean electricity standard represents a meaningful step forward on national energy policy that will help unleash massive new investments into American communities, while helping our country meet its economic and environmental needs simultaneously. We also applaud the Committee for recognizing the important role that transmission investments play in delivering affordable, reliable energy solutions for American homes and businesses. This important push to put steel in the ground and build towards a clean energy economy will require a significant and growing workforce up and down the coasts and across all 50 states. The American clean power industry looks forward to coordinating with the Committee and all parties around a workable framework that ensures rapid deployment of clean energy to drive good-paying jobs and achieve our nation’s economic and climate goals."
Earthjustice : “With time running out to avoid climate catastrophe, we need bold and equitable action to move away from fossil fuels to a 100% clean energy economy. We are pleased to see the House dialing up its ambitions to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice with the CLEAN Future Act. The bill includes policies that would accelerate the transition to zero emissions transportation powered by 100% clean energy. The bill adopts President Biden’s goal for a 100% clean electricity sector by 2035 and integrates his Justice40 Initiative into several key areas. We thank Chairman Pallone, Chairman Tonko, and Chairman Rush for their leadership, and look forward to working with them and the committee on further improving this important legislation."
Center for American Progress : “This bill helps lead the way to an ambitious clean energy transition, with significant investments in economic recovery and commitments to bold new sector-specific standards for decarbonization. Notably, the bill’s support for a strong clean electricity standard - with an interim target of producing 80 percent of the nation’s electricity from clean and renewable sources by 2030 - breaks new ground in recognizing the urgency of this transition. This interim target also puts the United States on a clear path to achieving President Joe Biden’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035. Furthermore, this legislation acknowledges that the economic and racial justice crises are deeply intertwined with the climate crisis by requiring that 40 percent of the funds made available under the bill benefit environmental justice communities, restricting air pollution permits for major emission sources in communities already overburdened by pollution, and investing in legacy pollution cleanups. These investments, paired with sector-specific standards, will create good-paying jobs and begin to reduce toxic pollution in affected communities while transitioning the United States to the clean energy economy of the future."
The Nature Conservancy : “We’re thrilled to see the commitment on the part of Reps. Pallone, Tonko, and Rush to the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. These are bold steps, and we’ll need this kind of bold action if we’re going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The good news is, actions like these can lead to economic growth - by encouraging innovation, by saving consumers and businesses money, and by giving us smarter and better energy choices. We are also encouraged to see equity and economic transition issues highlighted, to make sure that we provide assistance to the communities that are most impacted. Net zero is an ambitious goal, but a reachable and necessary one. We see the extreme impacts of the climate emergency caused by unchecked carbon emissions - devastating storms, more deadly wildfires, impacts on agriculture and in urban areas. We must act now to reduce carbon emissions, and to do so, we must deploy an array of solutions comprehensively across economic sectors. It is time for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach. The CLEAN Future Act is an important start to the conversation. We look forward to working with the authors of this bill and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to move forward with ambitious policy to address the climate crisis."
