U.S. House Poised To Pass First Climate Bill This Decade

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives -- led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Select Committee Chair Kathy Castor --will vote on the first piece of major climate legislation in nearly 10 years. The bill, H.R. 9 or the Climate Action Now Act, will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the landmark Paris Agreement by prohibiting the Trump administration from spending any money on withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and requiring the administration to produce a plan for meeting our international commitments.

Nearly two years ago, Donald Trump announced his disastrous plan to withdraw the U.S. from the deal, a move that has isolated the United States and dramatically undermined the country’s global leadership. But the earliest the U.S. will be able to complete Trump’s withdrawal is November 4, 2020, one day after the next U.S. Presidential election.

At the time of Trump’s announcement, a majority of Americans in all 50 states supported U.S. participation in the historic Paris deal. The Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016, has been signed by every nation on earth.

Since that time, more than 3,700 businesses, cities, states, tribes, colleges and universities, investors, faith groups and health organizations have declared their commitment to the Agreement despite federal inaction on climate. Additionally, more than 120 U.S. cities and 5 states are working toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement by setting 100 percent renewable goals. In total, 1 in 5 people in the U.S. are living in a place committed to 100 percent clean energy, and that trend is showing no signs of slowing. A recent Sierra Club poll found strong support for moving states to 100 percent clean energy by 2045 and for the U.S. government to take action on climate change. The poll also found ardent disapproval of the Trump administration’s handling of climate change, including leaving the Paris agreement.

A new report released earlier this week found that for the first time, the U.S. generated more power from clean energy than coal in the month of April, and a recent study from Trump’s own EPA found that the cost of inaction on the climate crisis will be hundreds of billions of dollars each year by the end of the century.

H.R. 9 is an important step forward in rectifying Trump’s ignorant and dangerous decision, and the bill is expected to easily pass through the House, reflecting the overwhelming bipartisan support for climate action.