Adam Bingman, adam.bingman@sierraclub.org
Kristiana Faddoul, kristiana.faddoul@sierraclub.org
As Congress Prepares to Move Forward with Reconciliation Bill, Nonprofits and Legislators in Arizona Urge Electric Sector Decarbonization Through a Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP)
Phoenix, AZ – Today, elected officials, leaders from organizations fighting climate change, and clean energy groups released a letter to Senator Mark Kelly to support full funding for the Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP). The letter calls for $150 billion in funding through budget reconciliation.
This letter was part of a larger national push this week, with letters sent to four Senators with key roles on the Energy and Natural Resource Committee, that includes Senator Mark Kelly. This is the latest effort in the summer-long fight to move our power sector to cleaner sources of energy. The CEPP, along with $300 billion in proposed clean energy tax incentives, will account for nearly half of the carbon emission reductions to come from the proposed dual infrastructure bills, which together will curb greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030.
All across America, communities are witnessing the intensifying effects of climate change: from hurricane-induced tornadoes in West Virginia, to flooding in Maine, to wildfires in Colorado, to unlivable heat in Arizona. Voters want all levels of government to take steps to address the climate crisis. Decarbonizing the electricity sector is essential to meet our climate goals, and the CEPP is the best policy to make it happen.
Statement from Jamie DeMarco, Federal Policy Director of the CCAN Action Fund: “The Clean Electricity Payments Program is the lynchpin for climate action. I’m glad to see the constituents of key US Senators stepping up to say that we must fully fund the CEPP.”
Statement from Sandy Bahr, Director of Sierra Club Arizona Chapter: “Arizona needs the leadership of Senator Kelly to ensure action on the climate crisis and the Clean Electricity Payments Program is critical to that action. This program will lead to more clean energy investments in our state benefiting our climate, our economy, and our communities.”
Arizona continues to experience the negative impacts of the climate crisis, including extreme heat and drought and larger wildfires. In August, for the first time, the federal government declared shortages on the Colorado River and much of Arizona continues to suffer from a long-term drought. Phoenix and Tucson are two of the fastest warming cities in the country.
Transitioning to a carbon pollution free power grid with a CEPP isn’t just key to fighting the climate crisis, it’s also overwhelmingly popular with voters across the country. According to polling from Data for Progress, nearly two thirds of likely voters nationwide support a transition to 100% clean electricity by 2035. Transitioning to 80% of our electricity being powered by clean energy sources by 2030 is affordable, feasible, reliable, and is projected to create 500,000 good jobs
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.