Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Somerset, MA – Today, President Biden is speaking at the retired Brayton Point coal plant on the ongoing climate crisis and new efforts he’s taking to address it. This speech comes days after Senator Joe Manchin blocked the president from being able to implement his agenda to reduce costs for consumers, address the climate crisis, protect communities, and create jobs.
Among the expected actions, President Biden will announce steps to protect communities from extreme heat and dangerous climate impacts, lower cooling costs for communities suffering from extreme heat, and expand offshore wind opportunities and jobs. Yesterday, the Sierra Club issued a memo detailing 10 bold actions the president can and must take to address the climate crisis.
For over 50 years, the Brayton Point coal plant powered parts of Southern Massachusetts. But local activists’ determination to transform their community from one reliant on dirty fossil fuels into one at the forefront of the energy transition led Brayton Point to end operations in 2017. Now it is being transformed into a clean energy hub, creating jobs by using the retired plant's electrical infrastructure to connect a wind farm to the state’s power grid. Brayton Point is an example of what a clean and renewable future that works for all Americans can look like.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“There’s a heat advisory in Somerset today. Millions across the country are suffering from extreme weather, overwhelming hospitals. We cannot afford any more delay on meaningful climate action; the climate crisis isn’t on our doorstep, it’s blown the door clear off.
“The age of fossil fuels is over. Brayton Point, like 356 other coal plants across the country, have either retired or will shortly. The transition to powering our country with clean, renewable energy is well underway, but in the face of Joe Manchin and Congressional Republicans’ continued love affair with corporate polluters, President Biden must exercise his authority by using the full power of the federal government to take swift, specific, and significant actions that treat climate change as the crisis it is.
“Every community saddled with fossil fuel infrastructure deserves the same future as Somerset. For this to happen, the Biden administration must build on today’s announcements to ensure their actions meet the strength and boldness of the President's rhetoric.”
Sierra Club Massachusetts Director Deb Pasternak stated:
“Across this community, neighbors and organizations built coalitions that fought tooth and nail for our health and our future. The retirement of Brayton Point did not come easy, but we’re here celebrating what is possible in the transition to a cleaner, safer, and better future. So many communities across the country are still saddled with deadly pollution from these power plants.
“Where Capitol Hill has failed, Beacon Hill and the White House can succeed. Our communities need strong action and bold investments to ensure each and every one of us can secure a future where we all can thrive.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.