Testimony of Scott Williamson
Sierra Club Washington, DC Chapter
Budget Hearing for the DC Green Finance Authority
Committee on Transportation and the Environment
March 29, 2022
Councilmember Cheh, thank you for the opportunity to testify at this budget hearing on the Green Finance Authority and thank you for your strong leadership on environmental issues. My name is Scott Williamson and I am a member of the Sierra Club DC Chapter’s Clean Energy Committee. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy group. We have chapters in all 50 states. The DC chapter has about 3,000 dues-paying members.
We are supportive of the mission of the DC Green Finance Authority, or “Green Bank,” and hope to see the REDF and SETF[1] funds, which are allocated by statute, fully allocated in this year’s budget. As we observed in the oversight hearing in January, the mission to drive private investment in clean, efficient, and green infrastructure projects in the District is a critical one and we have observed the Green Bank filling positions, building partnerships, expanding lending activity, and identifying projects that advance equity considerations throughout the District.
The Green Bank’s intended role as a finance entity requires that it be fully capitalized in order to be a meaningful source of financing and make the difference for projects that would not otherwise attract capital on the market. REDF and SETF revenues are tempting sources of revenue for other purposes and these allocations have been reduced in both FY 2021 and FY 2022. Continuing this trend will add years to the process of fully capitalizing the Green Bank, slowing down its effectiveness at a time when sustainable investment is sorely needed sooner rather than later.
With that said, this funding needs to serve genuine progress toward the only true metric of climate stability: achievement of net-zero carbon emissions for the city by 2050.
We again raise concerns that the Green Bank to date has not yet shown a commitment to work toward the District’s—and the world’s—most essential sustainability target: reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero by 2050. Rather, the Green Bank remains willing to fund and finance projects that expand the District’s dependence on methane gas, at a time when the District’s focus must be on doing all it can to reduce fossil fuel use. Given the long lifespan of equipment like boilers, HVAC systems, furnaces, and generators, now—not later—is the time for the Green Bank to be a force for clean energy transformation. This is especially relevant given the Green Bank’s new role as a source of financing for housing retrofits under the Affordable Housing Retrofit Accelerator. We are gravely concerned that this funding mechanism also allows for installation of gas appliances and fossil fuel systems, and as a result, the Green Bank’s tools may be used to drive the District away from, rather than toward, achievement of its climate commitments.
Councilmember Cheh, thank you again for your leadership and for this opportunity to testify on the budget of the Green Finance Authority.
[1] Renewable Energy Development Fund and Sustainable Energy Trust Fund