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In my 15 year career in Washington working on climate change issues, I have never been more heartened than I was this week to see Congress begin a serious conversation on ambitious and urgent action on the climate crisis. On Wednesday, two House committees hosted the first hearings on climate in more than six years. On Thursday, Representative Kathy Castor and Nancy Pelosi’s new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis added a team of eight new climate champions who are poised to seize the momentum for action and focus on the devastating impact of climate change and lift up solutions. On the very same day, a groundbreaking vision for the Green New Deal was introduced as a resolution in both chambers of Congress. All in all, this has been a major week for climate action -- and we’re not even done yet.
Of course, some inside the Washington, D.C. beltway are asking questions to drive wedges and bait members of Congress into the kind of infighting that creates headlines, but does nothing to solve this crisis. Still, what I see among House and Senate Democrats is a caucus united for ambitious climate action that is growing daily. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we join together to create as big a tent as possible for climate action and set our sights on extremely ambitious, urgent action.
Let’s start with the most recent action. Thursday --, a new member of the House of Representatives and a seasoned veteran of the Senate joined forces to push forward a vision for a “Green New Deal.” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey introduced joint House and Senate resolutions that breathed new life into the effort to tackle the twin crises of climate change and inequality under the Green New Deal umbrella.
Now, more than ever, it is critical that we join together to create as big a tent as possible for climate action and set our sights on extremely ambitious, urgent action.
These resolutions outline 14 Green New Deal projects, including proposals to “repair and upgrade U.S. infrastructure,” retrofit buildings, “build resiliency against climate change-related disasters,” “meet 100 percent of our power demand through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources,” restore our ecosystems, and “spur massive growth in clean U.S. manufacturing,” all through an inclusive process, “led by frontline and vulnerable communities and workers” so that those facing the worst of the climate have a voice in how it is addressed. Without question, the momentum for a Green New Deal has been growing steadily since last November, after Democrats won the House majority in the 2018 midterms, backed by voters who are demanding action. Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Markey are answering the call.
The Green New Deal is far from the only way the new Congress is listening to the public and acting on climate. Today, we also saw the announcements of a new team of climate champions to the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. which will be lead by our friend and champion Congresswoman Kathy Castor. Having worked closely with Representative Castor on her efforts to transition her community in Florida beyond dirty coal, we are confident she is a leader who will ensure this committee seizes the momentum for change and elevates the calls of the public for urgent, serious action.
Coupled with the energy surrounding proposals introduced in the House and Senate this committee will play a key part in ensuring voters get the real climate progress they demanded when they went to the polls in November. Climate champs such Reps. Donald McEachin, Joe Neguse, Ben Ray Lujan, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Mike Levin, Ben Ray Lujan, Jared Huffman, and Sean Casten are now a part of the committee, and we are excited for what’s to come from them. This Select Committee has numerous opportunities to investigate issues surrounding the crisis and its impacts, and elevate the conversation about the action we need. Meanwhile, we can only hope that the Congressional Republicans named to this Select Committee bring even half of the same spirit for action and progress we know these Democrats will.
The week also saw history made, as the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held the first hearings on the climate crisis in years. Specifically, it had been eight years for the House Natural Resources Committee and six years for the House Natural Resources Committee. In these hearings, we saw powerful testimony from scientists, faith leaders, and frontline communities as well as governors from both parties about the growing momentum and urgent need to act on climate. The testimony also made clear that the solutions to this crisis, like affordable and accessible wind and solar, are being deployed throughout the country at breakneck speed. We’re grateful for the leadership of Chairman Raul Grijalva, Chairman Frank Pallone, and Representative Paul Tonko in convening these hearings -- and we’re excited because they are only the start.
What we’re seeing this week is a sea change in Congress directly tied to the change in leadership. And there’s even more to come, including proposals to strengthen and affirm our commitment to the Paris Agreement and forthcoming legislation to move our country toward a 100 percent clean energy economy at the speed that science and justice demand. That kind of progress is what the American public voted for last November, and each of the major developments this week make it clear that momentum is moving strongly in that direction.