Opinion by Rebecca R. Rubin August 12, 2021 at 2:45 p.m. EDT
Source: The Washington Post Photo Source: Unsplash, Li-An Lim
In July, Senate Budget Committee Democrats announced they had reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, a vitally important development if Congress is to deliver on the president’s Build Back Better plan. Given the enormity and urgency of the climate crisis, environmental injustice and economic inequality, the reconciliation agreement must serve as the floor — not the ceiling — for transformational investments in U.S. clean energy, jobs and justice. These investments should cut our carbon emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030 and put our nation fully on the path to achieve 100 percent clean energy powering our grid, a national fleet of zero-emission cars and buses and low- to zero-emission buildings by 2050. Though Virginia has been leading on climate action with the passage of policies such as the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the federal government has in effect been going backward for four years, and we are way behind in solving this crisis. Despite the current opportunity, Congress has not enacted the bold policies or funded the programs necessary to combat climate change and transition to a more sustainable future. The current bipartisan infrastructure bill has key wins for water infrastructure, contaminated site cleanup and ecosystem restoration totaling $56.6 billion, but it does not provide the level of investment needed to directly address climate change, create millions of good-paying jobs and address environmental injustice. Meanwhile, our nation is buckling under the accelerating effects of climate change. Our region and the world are transforming in ways that have dire consequences for Virginians and people of all races, ethnicities and geographies around the globe. These global impacts have the effect of altering ocean chemistry, triggering food and potable water scarcity, and interrupting the flow of goods and services. With wildfires raging in the U.S. West and extreme flooding and climate impacts becoming routine in our region, the climate crisis is here — no longer a future threat. This is not a problem for the next generation; it’s an emergency now, one that demands strong action.
Public support has never been higher for addressing this crisis. Two-thirds of voters think it’s important for Congress to maintain investments to create clean energy jobs in the plan as they work to craft a final deal.
Congress must invest in stopping the accelerating climate crisis — including climate justice initiatives and funding programs that create climate-related jobs in the clean energy sector and land and water conservation sectors. And it must do so at the scale the climate crisis demands.
Passing the strong climate solutions laid out in President Biden’s original infrastructure proposal will put the United States on the right trajectory and show that we are taking this crisis seriously. The aiming points should include 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity; efficiency upgrades for buildings; reductions in both carbon dioxide and non-carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation, agricultural and industrial sectors; investments that create jobs and spur innovation in research and development; and a commitment that at least 40 percent these benefits should address those most affected first and worst — namely, low-income regions and communities of color.
Virginia is on the front lines of the climate crisis, so its congressional delegation must rise to the occasion by delivering needed investments that protect our communities and secure our future. With policies already in place to phase out fossil fuels in our electricity sector and accelerate our transition to electric vehicles, Virginia is well positioned to take advantage of federal investments in clean energy and climate action. We are already one of the fastest growing markets in the nation for clean energy, which, as of 2019, was responsible for more than 97,000 jobs in the commonwealth. Further investments will also help the commonwealth accelerate ongoing efforts to electrify the transportation sector, safeguard water quality and our coast, retool the fossil fuel-dependent Southwest Virginia economy, and advance environmental justice. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) has been a driving force in building political support on both sides of the aisle. Congress now has before it the opportunity to meet the scale of the crises we face with the big investments needed to build back better with justice and equity: to put the United States on a path to 100 percent clean energy, to prioritize just and equitable solutions for low-income and minority communities and to support the preservation and creation of jobs. For Virginia and for the nation as a whole, these investments are imperative, and the costs of inaction are unimaginably high.
What are your states climate change initiatives? What are your personal climate change initiatives? Do you drive an Electric Vehicle?
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