Shannon Van Hoesen, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Vice President Kamala Harris was in Boston yesterday to highlight a new $13 billion investment to help low- and middle- income families and communities of color reduce utility bills, limit pollution, support healthier communities, and create family-sustaining jobs. These new funds will help Americans afford weatherization improvements to their homes and energy efficient appliance upgrades, like heat pumps. This step builds upon efforts already underway through the administration’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, and this summer’s invocation of the Defense Production Act to boost clean energy manufacturing.
Weatherization improvements help families face extreme heat or cold, and other climate-driven natural disasters, while also reducing heating and cooling costs because of improved insulation and efficiency. These updates are also, often, needed in order to install energy cost-saving appliances, like heat pumps. Heat pumps are extremely efficient and run on electricity, instead of fossil fuels like oil or gas, which means they have zero-emissions and save consumers money on utility bills. These investments will also create jobs in the clean energy and building sectors.
In response, Sierra Club’s Building Electrification Campaign Director Jessica Tritsch released the following statement:
“Too many Americans face an untenable energy burden. That was the case before the recent record-breaking surge in gas and oil prices, but the problem is even more urgent than ever. This winter, too many families could be faced with impossible decisions about whether to heat their homes or put food on their tables. The Biden administration’s continued investment in making energy efficiency and weatherization attainable for all income-levels will help us curb emissions, especially in low-income and communities of color where the pollution burden is especially high, and help families afford to stay safe and comfortable in the face of a changing climate.”
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.