On June 30, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chair Kathy Castor (D-FL), members of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis unveiled a comprehensive plan titled “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.” The report lays out the Climate Crisis Action Plan, full of detailed, ambitious and actionable climate solutions that Congress should enact to benefit American families in communities across the nation.
The Climate Crisis Action Plan calls on Congress to:
- Grow the economy and put Americans back to work in clean energy jobs
- Protect the health of all families
- Make sure communities and farmers can withstand the impacts of climate change
- Protect America’s land and waters for the next generation
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy industries Association, testified before the Select Committee last year, and many of the ideas included in her testimony are addressed in the 547-page plan.
“I commend the leadership and staff of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis for their tireless work on the much anticipated and timely release of its Climate Crisis Action Plan,” Hopper said. “We strongly support the environmental justice priorities in this plan and the provisions that will lead to greater solar adoption in communities that are often left behind. The report outlines science-based policy recommendations that if enacted, will provide every American with access to the broad opportunities that our industry creates including access to clean, reliable and affordable energy. This is an important starting point and would build on the jobs and economic opportunity that solar energy provides, priorities for both sides of the aisle. We look forward to working with all members of Congress and the Executive Branch to move the substance of this report into bipartisan legislative action.”
According to an independent analysis, the Climate Crisis Action Plan would save more than 60,000 American lives every year by 2050 thanks to reduced air pollution, as well as nearly $8 trillion saved through 2050 thanks to health and climate benefits.
The Climate Crisis Action Plan, released as a majority staff report, has received the early support of more than 90 outside organizations, including leaders in environmental justice, agriculture, buildings, electricity, public health, resilience and transportation.
“We have a plan — and it comes at a critical time,” said Chair Castor. “Our plan will put people back to work and rebuild in a way that benefits all of us. That means environmental justice and our vulnerable communities are at the center of the solutions we propose. The health of our families and the air we breathe are at the heart of our plan. We chart the course to good-paying jobs in solar and wind energy, in manufacturing American-made electric vehicles, and in strengthening communities, so they are more resilient to flooding, extreme heat, intense hurricanes and wildfires.”
A few notable policy goals regarding solar power include: supporting rapid deployment of wind, solar, energy efficiency and other zero-carbon energy sources and construction of new transmission infrastructure to deliver clean energy to homes; and incentivizing more domestic manufacturing of clean energy, clean vehicle and zero-emission technologies along the whole supply chain.
The Climate Crisis Action Plan would put the country on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, if not earlier. It would power economic recovery through clean energy investment and family-sustaining jobs, and address the legacy of environmental injustice harming America’s low-income communities and communities of color.
News item from the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
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