Sierra Club Calls for Large-Scale Economic Renewal Package

WASHINGTON, DC -- Yesterday, the New York Times reported on plans from President Biden’s advisers for an economic recovery package designed to reduce carbon emissions, invest in manufacturing and high-tech industries, and upgrade infrastructure. The report notes that the plans call for $3 trillion in spending, including $1 trillion for roads, bridges, rail lines, ports, and improvements to the electric grid, and $100 billion for upgrading schools, child care centers, and community colleges. 

The Sierra Club has urged the Biden Administration to put forth an economic renewal plan aligned with the scale, scope, and standards of the THRIVE Agenda, which is backed by over 100 members of Congress and hundreds of leading union, racial justice, and climate groups. A new analysis from the Political Economy Research Institute and the Sierra Club shows that a THRIVE-aligned plan to invest $1 trillion a year for the next decade would immediately create over 15 million good jobs -- enough to employ every person who is currently unemployed -- while cutting climate pollution nearly in half by 2030 and helping to curb racial, Indigenous, gender, economic, and environmental injustice. The plan calls for economy-wide investments, with at least half going to frontline communities, in sectors such as clean energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, regenerative agriculture, ecosystem restoration, public services, and the care economy. 

The Sierra Club has also demanded that any economic renewal bill must follow the recommendations of the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, which asks for an investment package that improves public health, ensures access to clean air, potable water, and reliable electricity, and invests in affordable housing, pollution-free transportation, and community development programs.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:  

“As President Biden has said, we can create millions of good jobs and counteract injustice by addressing the climate crisis. The early reports on his advisers’ infrastructure plans confirm the president is not shying away from the opportunity to truly build back better, but more is needed to match the scale of the crises we face. People across the country are suffering more than ever from the interlocking crises of systemic racism, climate-fueled disasters, the devastating effects of COVID-19, and long-standing economic inequity. We must seize this opportunity to create transformational change by passing an economic recovery and infrastructure package that creates good jobs for everyone who is unemployed, invests in real climate solutions, and advances racial, Indigenous, gender, economic, and environmental justice.

“We can end the unemployment crisis and build a clean energy future with dignified work for all — but only if we enact an ambitious economic renewal plan. This is our moment to realize the vision of a just and equitable society, with the healthy communities every person deserves. 

“The Sierra Club looks forward to working with the Biden Administration to put forward an economic recovery package that invests at the scale and scope that’s necessary to overcome the daunting challenges the country faces.”