[House Report 116-708]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Union Calendar No. 592
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 116-708
_______________________________________________________________________
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES
of the
SELECT COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CRISIS
during the
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JANUARY 2, 2019-JANUARY 3, 2020
SECOND SESSION
JANUARY 3, 2020-JANUARY 3, 2021
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 31, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
42-827 WASHINGTON : 2020
SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Committee Membership
KATHY CASTOR, Florida, Chair
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana,
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon Ranking Member
JULIA BROWNLEY, California MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
JARED HUFFMAN, California GARY PALMER, Alabama
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia BUDDY CARTER, Georgia
MIKE LEVIN, California CAROL MILLER, West Virginia
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota
JOE NEGUSE, Colorado
COMMITTEE STAFF
Majority Committee Staff
Ana Unruh Cohen, Staff Director
Dana Gansman, Clerk
Fatima Maria Ahmad, Senior Counsel
Samantha Medlock, Senior Counsel
Mackenzie Landa, Counsel
Melvin Felix, Communications Director
Jacob Hicks, Digital Press Assistant
Ebadullah Ebadi, Policy Assistant
Zachary Pritchard, Fellow
Alison Cassady, Deputy Staff Director*
Javier Gamboa, Senior Professional Staff Member*
Raleigh Martin, Professional Staff Member*
Abigail Regitsky, Professional Staff Member*
Aaron Huertas, Communications Director*
Mariah Morrison, Digital Production Specialist*
Lara Hopkins, Shared Staff*
Minority Committee Staff
Marty Hall, Staff Director
George David Banks, Chief Strategist
Michael Lehmann, Communications Director
Marcie Smith, Professional Staff Member
Adele Borne, Legislative Aide and Research Analyst
Margaret Ayrea, Shared Employee
Dustin Davidson, Shared Employee
Philip Rossetti, Fellow*
----------
*Staffer has departed Committee at time of transmittal of report.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
House of Representatives,
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis,
Washington, DC, December 31, 2020.
Hon. Cheryl L. Johnson,
Clerk, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Ms. Johnson: Pursuant to clause 1(d) of Rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, I hereby submit a Report
on the Activities of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
for the 116th Congress.
This report summarizes the specific activities of the
Select Committee and encompasses the period of January 3, 2019
through January 2, 2020. Also contained herein is a submission
from the Democratic Majority Members which states ``Additional
Views.''
Sincerely,
Kathy Castor,
Chair.
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Committee Membership............................................. II
Letter of Transmittal............................................ V
Committee Organization........................................... 1
Jurisdiction of the Select Committee............................. 1
Rules for the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis............. 2
Summary of Committee Activities.................................. 8
Appendices:
I. Printed Meetings and Hearings....................................23
II. Additional Views.................................................25
Union Calendar No. 592
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 116-708
======================================================================
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS
116TH CONGRESS
_______
December 31, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Castor, from the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
Committee Organization
On March 28, 2019, the Select Committee met for an
organizational meeting of the 116th Congress under the
direction of Chair Kathy Castor. The Committee membership was
15 Members with 9 Democrats and 6 Republicans. The Committee
adopted the rules of the Committee for the 116th Congress.
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Select Committee on the Climate
Crisis, as prescribed by Clause 104(f) of rule XI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, is as follows:
(A) Legislative Jurisdiction--The Select Committee shall
not have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority
to take legislative action on any bill or resolution.
(B) Investigative Jurisdiction--The sole authority of the
Select Committee shall be to investigate, study, make findings,
and develop recommendations on policies, strategies, and
innovations to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in
pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate
crisis which will honor our responsibility to be good stewards
of the planet for future generations. The Select Committee may,
at its discretion, hold public hearings in connection with any
aspect of its investigative functions.
Rules
(Adopted March 28, 2019)
RULE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) The provisions of section 104(f) of H. Res. 6 (116th
Congress) governing the proceedings of the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis (hereinafter referred to as the
``Committee'') are hereby incorporated by reference and nothing
herein shall be construed as superseding any provision of that
section. The Rules of the House of Representatives shall apply
to the Committee to the extent that they are not inconsistent
with that title.
(b) The rules of the Committee shall be made publicly
available in electronic form and published in the Congressional
Record not later than 30 days after the Committee adopts its
rules.
RULE 2. MEETINGS
(a) In General.--
(1) The regular meeting date of the Committee shall be the
first Tuesday of every month when the House is in session in
accordance with clause 2(b) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives. If the House is not in session on the
first Tuesday of a month, the regular meeting date shall be the
third Tuesday of that month. A regular meeting of the Committee
may be dispensed with if, in the judgment of the Chair of the
Committee, there is no need for the meeting.
(2) Additional meetings may be called by the Chair of the
Committee as the Chair considers necessary, in accordance with
clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Meetings of the Committee shall be called to order and
presided over by the Chair or, in the Chair's absence, by a
member designated by the Chair to carry out such duties.
(c) Notification.--
(1) Pursuant to clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI of the Rules of
the House, the Chair shall make a public announcement of the
date, place, and subject matter of a Committee meeting (other
than a hearing), which may not commence earlier than the third
calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays
except when the House is in session on such a day) on which
members have notice thereof.
(2) The agenda for each Committee meeting, setting out all
items of business to be considered, shall be established by the
Chair and provided to each member of the Committee at least 36
hours (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays
except when the House is in session on such days) in advance of
the commencement of such meeting.
(d) The requirements of paragraph (c) may be waived by a
majority vote of those present, a quorum being present, or by
the Chair with the concurrence of the Ranking Member. If the
requirements of paragraph (c) are waived, the Chair shall
notify the members of the Committee at the earliest possible
time.
RULE 3. HEARINGS
(a) Announcement of Hearings.--
(1) Pursuant to clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI of the Rules of
the House, the Chair shall announce the date, time, place, and
subject matter of any hearing of the Committee, which may not
commence earlier than one week after such notice.
(2) A hearing may commence sooner than specified in (a)(1)
if the Chair, with the concurrence of the Ranking Member,
determines there is good cause or the Committee so determines
by majority vote, a quorum being present. The Chair shall
announce the hearing at the earliest possible time.
(b) Written Witness Statement; Oral Testimony.--
(1) Filing of Statement.--To the greatest extent
practicable, each witness who is to appear before the Committee
shall file with the clerk of the Committee a written statement
of his or her proposed testimony at least two business days in
advance of his or her appearance. The clerk of the Committee
shall distribute this testimony to the Members of the Committee
as soon as is practicable and at least one business day before
the hearing. The requirements of this subparagraph may be
waived or modified by the Chair after consultation with the
Ranking Member.
(2) Each witness shall limit his or her oral presentation
of testimony to no more than five minutes.
(3) Truth in Testimony.--Each witness appearing in a
nongovernmental capacity shall include with the written
statement of his or her proposed testimony a curriculum vitae
and a disclosure of any Federal grants or contracts or foreign
government contracts and payments related to the subject matter
of the hearing received during the current calendar year or
either of the two preceding calendar years by the witness or by
an entity represented by the witness. The disclosure shall
include (A) the amount and source of each Federal grant (or
subgrant thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) related
to the subject matter of the hearing; and (B) the amount and
country of origin of any payment or contract related to the
subject matter of the hearing originating with a foreign
government.
(4) Availability of Information.--Statements filed under
this paragraph shall be made publicly available in electronic
form not later than one day after the witness appears.
(c) Notification of Subject Matter.--As soon as practicable
but no later than 36 hours before the commencement of a
hearing, the Chair shall make available to the public and all
Members of the Committee a concise summary of the subject
matter under consideration at the hearing, any relevant reports
from departments or agencies on such matters, and a list of
witnesses, including minority witnesses.
(d) Minority Witnesses.--When any hearing is conducted by
the Committee on any measure or matter, the minority party
members on the Committee shall be entitled, upon request to the
Chair by a majority of those members, to call at least one
witness, as selected by the minority members, to testify with
respect to that measure or matter along with witnesses selected
by the Chair.
(e) Opening Statements.--
(1) Chair and Ranking Member.--At any hearing of the
Committee, the Chair and Ranking Member shall each control five
minutes for opening statements. The Chair and Ranking Member
may recognize other members within their respective five
minutes.
(2) Other Members.--The Chair may allow other members of
the Committee to deliver oral opening statements, as
appropriate, with the concurrence of the Ranking Member. Such
statements shall not exceed five minutes in length and are to
be equally distributed between majority and minority members to
the extent practicable given the party makeup of the members
present. Members not recognized by the Chair for oral opening
statements may submit written opening statements for the
record.
(f) Questioning of Witnesses.--The Chair shall initiate the
right to question witnesses before the Committee, followed by
the Ranking Member and all other members thereafter.
(1) Order of Member Recognition.--The right to question the
witnesses before the Committee shall alternate between majority
and minority members. A member of the Committee may question a
witness only when recognized by the Chair for that purpose. The
Chair shall recognize in order of appearance members who were
not present when the meeting was called to order after all
members who were present when the meeting was called to order
have been recognized in the order of seniority on the
Committee.
(2) Procedures for Questioning of Witnesses by Members.--
Each member shall be limited to 5 minutes in the questioning of
witnesses and shall limit his or her remarks to the subject
matter of the hearing. After consultation with the Ranking
Member, the Chair may recognize members who have already had an
opportunity to question the witness for a second period of 5
minutes once each member of the Committee present has been
recognized once for that purpose.
(3) Extended Questioning of Witnesses by Members.--
Following the questioning of witnesses described in (f)(2)
above, the Chair, with the concurrence of the Ranking Member or
the Committee by motion, may permit a specified number of
members to question one or more witnesses for a specified
period of time not to exceed 60 minutes in the aggregate,
equally divided between and controlled by the Chair and the
Ranking Member.
(4) Questions for the Record.--Each member may submit to
the Chair additional questions for the record to be answered by
the witnesses who have appeared. Each member shall provide a
copy of the questions in an electronic format to the Committee
no later than 10 business days following a hearing. The Chair
shall transmit all questions received from members of the
Committee to the appropriate witnesses and include the
transmittal letter and the responses from the witnesses in the
hearing record. After consultation with the Ranking Member, the
Chair is authorized to close the hearing record no earlier than
15 business days from the date the questions were transmitted
to the appropriate witnesses.
(g) Hearings of the Committee shall be called to order and
presided over by the Chair or, in the Chair's absence, by a
member designated by the Chair to carry out such duties.
(h) Oaths.--The Chair of the Committee, or a member
designated by the Chair, may administer oaths to any witness
before the Committee. The Chair or his or her designee may
administer the following oath to all witnesses prior to
receiving testimony: ``Do you solemnly swear or affirm, under
penalty of law, that the testimony you are about to give is the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?''
(i) Claims of Privilege.--Claims of common-law privilege
made by witnesses in hearings, or by interviewees in
investigations or inquiries, are applicable only at the
discretion of the Chair, subject to appeal to the Committee.
RULE 4. OPEN PROCEEDINGS
(a) Meetings for the transaction of business and hearings
of the Committee shall be open to the public, including radio,
television, and still photography coverage, unless closed in
accordance with clause 2(g) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives.
(b) The audio and video coverage of Committee proceeding
permitted under clause 4 of rule XI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives shall apply to the Committee.
RULE 5. REPORTS
(a) Approval of Official Committee Reports.--Any report
completed pursuant to section 104(f)(5) of H. Res. 6 (116th
Congress) that purports to express the views, findings,
conclusions, or recommendations of the Committee must be
approved by a majority vote of the Committee at a meeting at
which a quorum is present, in accordance with Committee Rule
7(a)(3). The total number of votes cast for and against, and
the names of those voting for and against, shall be included in
the Committee report on the matter.
(b) Notice of Committee Reports.--Any report described in
(a) shall not be considered in the Committee unless the
proposed report has been available to the members of the
Committee for at least three business days before consideration
of such report in the Committee.
(c) Additional Views.--If, at the time of approval of a
report, a member of the Committee gives notice of intent to
file supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views
for inclusion in the report, all members of the Committee shall
be entitled to no less than two business days after such notice
to file such views following clause 2(l) of rule XI and clause
3(a)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House.
(d) Availability of Publications.--Pursuant to clause
2(e)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the House, the Committee
shall make its publications available in electronic form to the
maximum extent feasible. Pursuant to sections 104(f)(5) and
104(f)(6) of H. Res. 6 (116th Congress), the Committee shall
make its publications available to the general public in widely
accessible formats not later than 30 calendar days following
the respective dates for completion.
RULE 6. COMMITTEE RECORDS
(a) Availability.--Documents reflecting the proceedings of
the Committee shall be made publicly available in electronic
form on the Committee's website and in the Committee office for
inspection by the public, as provided in clause 2(e) of rule XI
of the Rules of the House of Representatives, within 48 hours
of such recorded vote after each meeting has adjourned,
including a record showing those present at each meeting; and a
record of the vote on any question on which a recorded vote is
demanded, including a description of the motion, order, or
other proposition, the name of each member voting for and each
member voting against such motion, order, or proposition, and
the names of those members of the Committee present but not
voting.
(b) Archived Records.--The records of the Committee
deposited at the National Archives shall be made available for
public use in accordance with rule VII of the Rules of the
House. The Chair shall notify the Ranking Member of any
decision, pursuant to clause 3(b)(3) or clause 4(b) of such
rule, to withhold a record otherwise available. Upon written
request of any member of the Committee, the Chair shall present
the matter to the Committee for a determination, which shall be
subject to the same requirements for conduct of Committee
business under Committee Rule 2.
RULE 7. QUORUMS AND RECORDED VOTES; POSTPONEMENT OF VOTES
(a) Establishment of a Quorum.--
(1) For the purpose of taking testimony and receiving
evidence, no fewer than two members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum.
(2) A majority of the members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum for those actions for which the Rules of
the House of Representatives require a majority quorum.
(3) A majority of the members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum for issuing an official Committee report
pursuant to Rule 5 of the Committee rules and section 104(f)(5)
of H. Res. 6 (116th Congress).
(4) For the purposes of taking any other action, one-third
of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(b) Recorded Votes.--A recorded vote may be demanded by
one-fifth of the members present.
(c) Postponement of Votes.--Pursuant to clause 2(h)(4) of
the Rules of the House, the Chair, after consultation with the
Ranking Member, may postpone further proceedings when a
recorded vote is ordered on the question of approving any
measure or matter or adopting an amendment and may resume
proceedings on a postponed vote at any time after reasonable
notice to Members by the Clerk or other designee of the Chair.
When proceedings resume on a postponed question,
notwithstanding any intervening order for the previous
question, an underlying proposition shall remain subject to
further debate or amendment to the same extent as when the
question was postponed.
RULE 8. COMMITTEE STAFF
(a) Professional and other staff of the Committee are
subject to the provisions of clause 9 of rule X of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
(b) Majority Staff.--The Chair shall appoint and determine
the remuneration of, and may remove, the employees of the
Committee not assigned to the minority. The staff of the
Committee not assigned to the minority shall be under the
general supervision and direction of the Chair, who shall
establish and assign the duties and responsibilities of such
staff members and delegate such authority as he or she
determines appropriate.
(c) Minority Staff.--The Ranking Member shall appoint and
determine the remuneration of, and may remove, the staff
assigned to the minority within the budget approved for such
purposes. The staff assigned to the minority shall be under the
general supervision and direction of the Ranking Member, who
may delegate any authority he or she determines appropriate.
(d) The Chair and Ranking Member have the right to secure
one or more detailees to assist with the work of the Committee.
RULE 9. BUDGET
(a) The Chair, in consultation with the Ranking Member,
shall prepare a budget providing amounts for staff, committee
travel, field hearings, investigation, and other expenses of
the Committee. Funds authorized for the Committee as provided
in clause 6 of rule X are for expenses incurred in the
activities of the Committee.
(b) Consistent with clause 9 of rule X, the Chair shall
designate an amount equal to 1/3 of the amount provided to the
Committee in the primary expense resolution adopted by the
House of Representatives to be under the direction of the
Ranking Member for the compensation of the minority staff,
travel expenses of minority members and staff, and minority
office expenses. All expenses of minority members and staff
shall be paid for out of the amount so set aside.
RULE 10. TRAVEL
(a) The Chair may authorize travel for any member and any
staff member of the Committee in connection with activities or
subject matters under the general jurisdiction of the
Committee. Travel to be reimbursed from funds set aside for the
Committee for any member of staff member shall be paid only
upon the prior authorization of the Chair. Before such
authorization is granted, there shall be submitted to the Chair
in writing the following:
(1) The purpose of the travel.
(2) The dates during which the travel is to occur.
(3) The names of the states or countries to be visited and
the length of time to be spent in each.
(4) An agenda of anticipated activities.
(5) The names of members and staff of the Committee for
whom the authorization is sought.
(b) Members and staff of the Committee shall make a written
report to the Chair on any travel they have conducted under
this subsection, including a description of their itinerary,
expenses, and activities, and of pertinent information gained
as a result of such travel.
(c) Members and staff of the Committee performing
authorized travel on official business shall be governed by
applicable laws, resolutions, and regulations of the House and
of the Committee on House Administration.
RULE 11. WEBSITE
The Chair shall maintain an official Committee website for
the purpose of carrying out the official responsibilities of
the Committee, including communicating information about the
Committee's activities. The Ranking Member may maintain a
minority website. To the maximum extent feasible, the Committee
shall make its publications available in electronic form on the
official Committee website maintained by the Chair.
Summary of Committee Activities
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
Generation Climate: Young Leaders Urge Climate Action Now
On Thursday, April 4, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Generation Climate:
Young Leaders Urge Climate Action Now.'' The purpose of this
hearing was to hear from young leaders who are urging
policymakers to take climate action now and finally address the
climate crisis. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
Lindsay Cooper, Policy Analyst. Office of the
Governor of Louisiana, Office of Coastal Activities;
Aji Piper, Plaintiff, Juliana v. United States;
Chris J. Suggs, Student and activist;
Melody Zhang, Climate Justice Campaign
Coordinator, Sojourners, and Co-Chair, Young Evangelicals for
Climate Action
Solving the Climate Crisis: Drawing Down Carbon and Building Up the
American Economy
On Tuesday, April 30, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Drawing Down Carbon and Building Up the American
Economy.'' The purpose of this hearing was to examine the
latest climate science and what it says about reducing
emissions to avert the worst impacts of climate change; key
policy options to achieve those emissions reductions; and
opportunities to strengthen the American economy while tackling
climate change. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
David Foster, Distinguished Associate, Energy
Futures Initiative;
Christopher Guith, Acting President and CEO, U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, Global Energy Institute;
Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation;
Dr. Diana Liverman, Regents Professor of Geography
and Development, University of Arizona
Creating a Climate Resilient America
On Thursday, May 23, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Creating a Climate
Resilient America.'' The purpose of this hearing was to examine
the costs and impacts of climate change and how our
communities, ecosystems, and food system can be more resilient
in the face of a changing climate. The Committee received
testimony from the following witnesses:
Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh, Kara J Foundation Professor
and Kimmelman Family Senior Fellow, Stanford University;
Dr. Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director, Climate and
Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists;
The Honorable Keith Hodges, Virginia State
Delegate, 98th District of Virginia;
Matt Russell, Farmer, and Executive Director, Iowa
Interfaith Power & Light
Solving the Climate Crisis: Ramping Up Renewables
On Thursday, June 13, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Ramping Up Renewables.'' The purpose of this hearing
was to examine opportunities to expand deployment of wind and
solar energy sources. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
Abigail Ross Hopper, Esq., President and CEO,
Solar Energy Industries Association;
Tom Kiernan, President and CEO, American Wind
Energy Association;
Christine Tezak, Managing Director--Research,
ClearView Energy Partners, LLC;
Katherine Hamilton, Chair, 38 North Solutions
Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaning Up Heavy Duty Vehicles, Protecting
Communities
On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Cleaning Up Heavy Duty Vehicles, Protecting
Communities.'' The purpose of this hearing was to focus on ways
to reduce emissions from heavy duty vehicles. The Committee
received testimony from the following witnesses:
Angelo Logan, Campaign Director, The Moving
Forward Network;
Michelle Romero, National Director, Green for All;
Ryan Popple, President & CEO, Proterra, Inc.;
Tony Satterthwaite, Vice President--Cummins, and
President--Cummins Distribution Business
Creating a Climate Resilient America: Business Views on the Costs of
the Climate Crisis
On Thursday, July 25, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Creating a Climate
Resilient America: Business Views on the Costs of the Climate
Crisis.'' The purpose of this hearing was to examine the risks,
costs, and opportunities businesses, investors, and the economy
face as a result of the climate crisis. The Committee received
testimony from the following witnesses:
Paula DiPerna, Special Advisor, CDP North America;
Garvin Jabusch, Chief Investment Officer, Green
Alpha Advisors, LLC;
James K. Walker, Executive Vice President, South
Louisiana Bank;
Francis Bouchard, Group Head of Public Affairs &
Sustainability, Zurich Insurance Group
Colorado's Roadmap for Clean Energy Action: Lessons From State and
Local Leaders
On Thursday, August 1, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a field hearing at the University of
Colorado in Boulder, Colorado entitled ``Colorado's Roadmap for
Clean Energy Action: Lessons from State and Local Leaders.''
The purpose of this hearing was to examine Colorado's state and
local efforts to expand clean energy deployment. The Committee
received testimony from the following witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Jared Polis, Governor, State of
Colorado
Panel 2
The Honorable Suzanne Jones, Mayor, City of
Boulder, Colorado;
The Honorable Wade Troxell, Mayor, City of Fort
Collins, Colorado;
Cary Weiner, State Energy Specialist, Colorado
State University (CSU) Extension, and Director, Rural Energy
Center, CSU;
Chris Wright, CEO, Liberty Oilfield Services;
Heidi VanGenderen, Chief Sustainability Officer,
University of Colorado-Boulder
Solving the Climate Crisis: Manufacturing Jobs for America's Workers
On Tuesday, September 10, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Manufacturing Jobs for America's Workers.'' The purpose
of this hearing was to focus on expanding job opportunities for
America's workers in clean vehicle and clean energy technology
manufacturing. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
Zoe Lipman, Director, Vehicles and Advanced
Transportation Program, BlueGreen Alliance;
Josh Nassar, Legislative Director, International
Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement
Workers of America (UAW)
Tarak Shah, Consultant, and Former Chief of Staff,
Under Secretary for Science and Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy;
Edward Stones, Global Business Director, Energy
and Climate Change, Dow Inc.
Voices Leading the Next Generation on the Global Climate Crisis (Joint
Hearing With the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia,
Energy, and the Environment)
On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis held a joint hearing with the House Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the
Environment entitled ``Voices Leading the Next Generation on
the Global Climate Crisis.'' The purpose of this hearing was to
hear directly from young people who are leading the way on
climate action. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
Greta Thunberg, Founder, Fridays for the Future;
Jamie Margolin, Co-Founder, This is Zero Hour,
Plaintiff, Piper v. State of Washington;
Vic Barrett, Founder, Alliance for Climate
Education, Plaintiff, Juliana v. United States
Benji Backer, President, American Conservation
Coalition
Solving the Climate Crisis: Reducing Industrial Emissions Through U.S.
Innovation
On Thursday, September 26, 2019, the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the
Climate Crisis: Reducing Industrial Emissions Through U.S.
Innovation.'' This hearing examined innovative technologies and
policies to enable emissions reductions in the industrial
sector. The Committee received testimony from the following
witnesses:
David Gardiner, President, David Gardiner and
Associates, and Executive Director, Combined Heat and Power
Alliance
Dr. Jeremy Gregory, Research Scientist and
Executive Director, Concrete Sustainability Hub, MIT, on behalf
of Portland Cement Association
Brad Crabtree, Vice President, Carbon Management,
Great Plains Institute, on behalf of Carbon Capture Coalition
Cate Hight, Principal, Rocky Mountain Institute,
on behalf of Rocky Mountain Institute
Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger Buildings
On Thursday, October 17, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger Buildings.'' The hearing examined key
strategies to reduce emissions from and enhance the resilience
of new and existing buildings. The Committee received testimony
from the following witnesses:
Anica Landreneau, Senior Principal, Director of
Sustainable Design, Hellmouth, Obara & Kassabaum, P.C. (HOK);
Kara Saul Rinaldi, Vice President of Government
Affairs & Policy, Building Performance Association;
James Rutland, President, Lowder New Homes, on
behalf of National Association of Home Builders;
Dr. Khalil Shahyd, Senior Policy Advocate, Natural
Resources Defense Council;
Roy Wright, President, Insurance Institute for
Business and Home Safety
Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and
Building Resilience
On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Natural Solutions to Cutting Pollution and Building
Resilience.'' The hearing examined the potential of natural
climate solutions to help meet emissions reduction targets;
improved land management actions and policies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector; opportunities to
increase carbon storage in landscapes and wetlands; and the co-
benefits of nature-based climate strategies to create resilient
ecosystems and communities. The Committee received testimony
from the following witnesses:
Dr. Joe Fargione, Science Director--North America
Region, The Nature Conservancy;
Frankie Myers, Vice Chairman, Yurok Tribal
Council, The Yurok Tribe;
Dr. Jennifer Howard, Director, Climate and Oceans,
Conservation International;
The Honorable Alexander ``Andy'' Karsner,
Executive Chairman, Elemental Labs
Solving the Climate Crisis: Opportunities in Agriculture
On Wednesday, October 30, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: Opportunities in Agriculture.'' The hearing explored
ways that agriculture can be a part of the climate solution by
implementing climate smart agricultural practices to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil health and carbon
sequestration in agricultural lands, helping to make farms more
resilient to the impacts of climate change. The Committee
received testimony from the following witnesses:
Fred Yoder, 4th Generation Farmer, Co-Chair,
Solutions from the Land;
Christina Owens, Senior Director, Agriculture
Funding & Communication, Danone North America, PBC;
Dr. Jennifer Moore-Kucera, Climate Initiative
Director, American Farmland Trust;
Viral Amin, Vice President for Commercial
Development & Strategy, DTE Energy Resources
Member Day
On Thursday, November 14, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a Member Day to hear testimony from House
members regarding their climate policy ideas. At the hearing,
26 Members testified and an additional 10 submitted statements
for the record.
Creating a Climate Resilient America: Reducing Risks and Costs
On Wednesday, November 20, 2019, the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Creating a Climate
Resilient America: Reducing Risks and Costs. The hearing
explored the climate risk information, standards, and tools
that communities need to become more resilient to the impacts
of climate change and to reduce the risks and costs of climate-
driven disasters. The Committee received testimony from the
following witnesses:
Chad Berginnis, Executive Director, Association of
State Floodplain Managers;
The Honorable Craig Fugate, Principal, Craig
Fugate Consulting, and Former FEMA Administrator;
The Honorable Alice C. Hill, Senior Fellow for
Climate Change Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
Creating a Climate Resilient America: Smart Finance for Strong
Communities
On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Creating a Climate
Resilient America: Smart Finance for Strong Communities.'' The
hearing explored the actions Congress can take to better
leverage federal funds, private capital, and insurance to
increase resilience before disasters and accelerate recovery in
their aftermath, while ensuring that no community is left
behind. The Committee received testimony from the following
witnesses:
Damon Burns, Executive Director, Finance Authority
of New Orleans;
Mark Gaffigan, Managing Director, Government
Accountability Office;
Marion Mollegan McFadden, Senior Vice President
for Policy & Senior Advisory for Resilience Enterprise
Community Partners;
Chuck Wemple, Executive Director, Houston-
Galveston Area Council
Creating a Climate Resilient America: Overcoming the Health Risks of
the Climate Crisis
On Wednesday, February 5, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a hearing entitled ``Creating a Climate
Resilient America: Overcoming the Health Risks of the Climate
Crisis.'' The hearing explored the health risks of the climate
crisis and solutions to address them. The Committee received
testimony from the following witnesses:
The Honorable Gina McCarthy, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Natural Resources Defense Council;
Dr. Aparna Bole, Chair, AAP Council on
Environmental Health, on behalf of American Academy of
Pediatrics;
Arturo S. Rodriguez, President Emeritus, on behalf
of United Farm Workers, UFW Foundation;
Derrick Hollie, President, Reaching America (*Mr.
Hollie was unable to testify in person due to illness; his
testimony was submitted for the record)
Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy
Economy
On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a virtual hearing entitled ``Solving the
Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy
Economy.'' The hearing focused on ensuring a just, equitable
transition to a net-zero clean energy economy that creates
good-paying, high-quality jobs. The Committee received
testimony from the following witnesses:
Dr. Ana Baptista, Assistant Professor of
Professional Practice & Associate Director of the Tishman
Environment and Design Center, The New School, on behalf of New
Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and the Equitable and
Just Climate Forum;
Jason Walsh, Executive Director, BlueGreen
Alliance;
Michael Shellenberger, Founder & President,
Environmental Progress;
Beth Soholt, Executive Director, Clean Grid
Alliance, on behalf of American Council on Renewable Energy and
Americans for a Clean Energy Grid
Creating a Climate Resilient America: Strengthening the U.S. Financial
System and Expanding Economic Opportunity
On Thursday, October 1, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a virtual hearing entitled ``Creating a
Climate Resilient America: Strengthening the U.S. Financial
System and Expanding Economic Opportunity.'' The purpose of
this hearing was to explore the ways that the climate crisis
exacerbates economic harm and injustice and identify strategies
to strengthen financial to systems and enhance access to
capital to support community resilience and economic recovery.
The Committee received testimony from the following witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Rostin Behnam, Commissioner,
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Panel 2
Dr. Joanna Syroka, Senior Underwriter and Director
of New Markets, Fermat Capital Management, LLC;
Rich Powell, Executive Director, ClearPath;
Maggie Monast, Director of Working Lands,
Environmental Defense Fund
COMMITTEE ROUNDTABLES
In addition to official hearings, the Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis held private, Member-level roundtables to
hear additional perspectives and discuss policies with invited
experts.
Roundtable Discussion With Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
On Wednesday, May 22, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a roundtable with Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti. Mayor Garcetti discussed the City's updated
Sustainability Plan, released in April 2019, and his policies
to reduce pollution and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Committee was briefed by the following witness:
The Honorable Eric Garcetti, Mayor, Los Angeles,
California
Roundtable on Electricity Transmission Infrastructure
On Thursday, June 20, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a roundtable focused on electricity
transmission infrastructure. The roundtable focused on the need
to upgrade and expand America's electricity infrastructure and
key challenges, including planning, cost allocation, and
siting. The Committee was briefed by the following witnesses:
Donnie Colston, Director, Utility Department,
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers;
The Honorable Suedeen Kelly, Partner, Jenner &
Block, and Former FERC Commissioner;
Rob Gramlich, Founder and President, Grid
Strategies LLC;
The Honorable Philip D. Moeller, Executive Vice
President, Business Operations Group and Regulatory Affairs,
Edison Electric Institute, and Former FERC Commissioner
Roundtable on Electricity Market Design
On Wednesday, June 26, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a roundtable focused on electricity market
design and the relevance to federal climate policy. The
Committee was briefed by the following witnesses:
The Honorable Norman Bay, Partner, Wilkie Farr &
Gallagher LLP, and Former FERC Chairman;
Dr. Jennifer Chen, Senior Counsel on Federal
Energy Policy, Nicholas Institute, Duke University;
Brad Markell, Executive Director, Industrial Union
Council, AFL-CIO
Roundtable on the Climate Crisis in the Great Lakes Region
On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a public, regional roundtable at the Adler
Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois focused on the impacts of
climate change in the Great Lakes region. The Committee was
briefed by the following witnesses:
Margaret Garascia, Senior Manager, Elevate Energy,
which administers the Illinois Solar for All program;
Elena Grossman, BRACE-Illinois Program Director,
University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health;
Dr. Aaron Packman, Professor, Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Water Lead,
Manufacturing Science and Engineering Initiative, Argonne
National Laboratory;
Karen Weigert, Vice President, Slipstream, Inc.,
and Former Director of Sustainability, City of Chicago,
Illinois
Roundtable on Nuclear Power
On Friday, September 20, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a roundtable on nuclear power. The
roundtable examined opportunities and challenges related to the
existing U.S. nuclear fleet and next-generation nuclear power
technologies. The Committee was briefed by the following
witnesses:
Rob Cowin, Director of Government Affairs, Climate
& Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists;
Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, State President, South
Carolina, Duke Energy;
The Honorable Colette Honorable, Partner, Reed
Smith LLC, Former FERC Commissioner, and Former Chairman,
Arkansas Public Service Commission;
Dr. Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Department
of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Andlinger Center for
Energy & Environment, Princeton University
Roundtable Meeting With Tribal Leaders
On Thursday, February 13, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a meeting with National Congress of
American Indian (NCAI) tribal leaders on climate action efforts
of tribal nations. The Committee was briefed by the following
witnesses:
Fawn Sharp, President, Quinault Indian Nation, and
President, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI);
Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor, Gila River Indian
Community, and Co-Chair, NCAI Climate Action Task Force;
Clinton Lageson, Treasurer, Kenaitze Indian Tribe,
and NCAI Treasurer
Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and Air Pollution
On Friday, April 17, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a virtual roundtable to examine the
relationship between historical exposure to air pollution and
COVID-19 mortality in the United States. The Committee was
briefed by the following witness:
Dr. Francesca Dominici, Professor of
Biostatistics, Population Health and Data Science, and Co-
Director, Data Science Initiative, Harvard University
Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and Disasters
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis held a virtual roundtable on ways to help state
and local governments protect their communities from climate-
fueled threats--including wildfires, severe storms, hot summer
conditions, and a hurricane season that is predicted to be more
active than usual--as they continue to respond to the public
health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee was
briefed by the following witnesses:
The Honorable Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, President of East Baton Rouge Parish, and Co-
Chair of the Mississippi River Cities & Town Initiative
The Honorable Craig Fugate, Principal, Craig
Fugate Consulting, and former FEMA Administrator
COMMITTEE AUTHORIZED TRAVEL
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to South Carolina
On Monday, May 13, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy Castor traveled to South Carolina's
1st Congressional District. Her visit included visits and tours
examining the issues of resiliency, infrastructure, government
funding, and flooding in the hospital district of Sullivan
Island, S.C. As part of the Chair's visit to Sullivan Island,
S.C., she met with the following people:
The Honorable Joe Cunningham, Member of Congress
The Honorable Pat O'Neil, Mayor, Sullivan Island,
S.C.
Andy Benke, Town Administrator, Sullivan Island,
S.C.
M. Richard DeVoe, Executive Director, South
Carolina Sea Grant Consortium
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to Southern California
On Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, 2019, the Select
Committee on the Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy Castor traveled to
Southern California. Her visit included a discussion with the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography and U.C. San Diego; a tour
of the Proterra EV bus factory; a visit to Navy Base, Point
Mugu to discuss climate change resiliency and renewable energy
& efficiency; a roundtable discussion at the Port of Hueneme;
and a tour of Houweling's Tomatoes. As part of the Chair's trip
to Southern California, she met with the following people:
The Honorable Mike Levin, Member of Congress
The Honorable Julia Brownley, Member of Congress
The Honorable Grace Napolitano, Member of Congress
Dr. Margaret Leinen: U.C. San Diego Vice
Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine Sciences
Dr. David Victor, Professor; Co-director,
Laboratory on International Law and Regulation, School of
Global Policy & Strategy, U.C. San Diego
Dr. Kimberly Prather, Professor, Climate,
Atmospheric Science, & Physical Oceanography (CASPO), Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego
Dr. Mark Merrifield, Director, Center for Climate
Change Impacts and Adaptations (CCCIA), Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, U.C. San Diego
Dr. Dan Cayan, Research Meteorologist, Climate,
Atmospheric Science, & Physical Oceanography (CASPO), Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego
Jason Anderson, President and CEO, Cleantech San
Diego
Brian Miller, Proterra Inc.
CAPT Jeff Chism, Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC)
Commanding Officer
LCDR Brian Christner, NBVC Acting Public Works
Officer
Daniel Shide, NBVC Environmental Program Director
Amanda Fagan, NBVC Community Planning and Liaison
Officer and encroachment specialist
Dave Masias, NBVC Energy Program Director
Valerie Vartanian, NBVC Natural Resources Manager
Kristin Decas, CEO, Port of Hueneme
Jonathan Parfrey, Executive Director, Climate
Resolve
Dave Pedersen, General Manager, Las Virgenes
Municipal Water District
Karen Schmidt, Regional Affairs Manager, Clean
Power Alliance, Regional Affairs Manager
Alyssa Mann, Project Director, Disaster
Resilience, The Nature Conservancy
Kevin Doran, CEO, Houweling's Tomatoes
Jaymee McInerney, Brand Manager, Houweling's
Tomatoes
Ben Vazquez, Site General Manager, Houweling's
Tomatoes
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to Coastal Virginia
On Monday, July 8 and Tuesday, July 9, 2019, the Select
Committee on the Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy Castor traveled to
coastal Virginia. Her visit included discussions and site
visits around resiliency and climate change in the Hampton
Roads region of Virginia, as well as a visit to the Virginia
Museum of Science in Richmond Virginia. As part of the Chair's
trip to coastal Virginia, she met with the following people:
The Honorable A. Donald McEachin, Member of
Congress
The Honorable Elaine Luria, Member of Congress
The Honorable Bobby Scott, Member of Congress
Andria McClellan, Chairwoman of Coastal Resilience
Subcommittee, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Skip Stiles, Executive Director, Wetlands Watch
Kit Chope, Port of Virginia
Dustin Rinehart, Port of Virginia
Brian Ballard, U.S. Navy
Robb Braidwood, Deputy Coordinator of Emergency
Management, City of Chesapeake, Virginia
Kyle Spencer, Deputy Resiliency Officer, City of
Norfolk, Virginia
Tom Leahy, Deputy City Manager, Virginia Beach,
Virginia
Ann Phillips, Special Assistant to the Governor,
State of Virginia
Jeremy S. Hoffman, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Science
Museum of Virginia
Select Committee Member Trip to Colorado
On Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31, 2019, Members
of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis traveled
throughout Colorado on site visits to learn more about the
research of scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and federally-funded laboratories. This
included a site visit to NOAA's Earth System Research Library
in Boulder, CO; a visit to the Cooperative Institute for
Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of
Colorado in Boulder, CO; a visit to the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO; a visit to the National
Wind Technology Center at NREL's Flatirons Campus; and a visit
to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in
Boulder, CO. As part of the Members' trip to Colorado, they met
with the following people:
The Honorable Jared Polis, Governor, State of
Colorado
The Honorable Bill Ritter, Former Governor, State
of Colorado
David Fahey, Director, Chemical Sciences Division,
NOAA Earth System Research Library
Sarah Venema, Outreach Specialist, NOAA
Brian Copello, Executive Director, Communications
Technology Laboratory, National Institutes for Science and
Technology (NIST)
Dr. Keith Gremban, Director, Institute for
Telecommunication Sciences, National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
Rich Lataitis, Associate Director, Physical
Sciences Division, NOAA ESRL
Marty Hoerling, Meteorologist, Physical Sciences
Division, NOAA ESRL
Roger Pulwarty, Scientist, Physical Sciences
Division, NOAA ESRL
James Butler, Director, Global Monitoring
Division, NOAA ESRL
Waleed Abdalati, Director, CIRES
Caroline Alden, Senior Research Scientist, CIRES
Noah Fierer, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology
Jennifer Balch, Associate Professor of Geography
Derek Passarelli, Director, Golden Field Office,
U.S. Department of Energy
Peter Green, Deputy Laboratory Director, Science
and Technology, NREL
Juan Torres, Associate Lab Director, Energy
Systems Integration, NREL
Jao Van De Lagemaat, Center Director II--
Technical, NREL
Mark Davis, Director, Biosciences Center, NREL
Johney Green, Associate Laboratory Director for
Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences
Tim Barnes, Science Education Specialist, NCAR
Antonio J. Busalacchi, President, NCAR
David Gochis, Scientist, NCAR
Olga Wilhelmi, Project Scientist, NCAR
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to Gainesville, Florida
On Monday, August 12, 2019, the Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy Castor traveled to Gainesville,
Florida. Her visit consisted of a tour of a cattle and timber
farm, a panel discussion on the needs of farmers in Florida in
the face of climate change, and a forum hosted by the
University of Florida on agriculture and forestry in a changing
climate. As part of the Chair's trip to Gainesville, she met
with the following people:
Lynetta Usher Griner, Co-Chair, Florida Climate
Smart Agriculture Work Group
Jim Strickland, Co-Chair, Florida Climate Smart
Agriculture Work Group
Dr. Senthold Asseng, Director, Florida Climate
Institute
Dr. Lisa Conti, Director of Strategic Initiatives,
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Frank Giles, Editor, Florida Growers magazine
Dr. Nick Place, Dean and Director, University of
Florida/IFAS Extension
Dr. Jack Payne, Senior Vice President for
Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Florida
Ernie Shea, President, Solutions from the Land
Fred Yoder, Co-chair of the Board of Directors,
Solutions from the Land
Don Bennink, Dairy farmer
Heath Davis, Cedar Key Seafarms
Gray Drummond, Florida Outdoors Experience
Ken Griner, Timber and cattle rancher
Korey Griner, Timber and cattle rancher
Don Quincey, Cattle rancher
Dr. Carolyn Mutter, International Program Manager,
The Agricultural Model Intercomparison & Improvement Project,
Colombia University Earth Institute Center for Climate Systems
Research
Bill Hohenstein, Director, Office of Energy and
Environment Policy, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA
Dr. Wendy-Lin Bartels, University of Florida
School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Gary Wishnatski, strawberry farmer
Randall Dasher, peanuts and veggie farmer
Sandy Stein, plant nursery
Kirk Brock, row crop farmer
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to Illinois and Michigan
From Tuesday, August 13, 2019 through Friday, August 16,
2019, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy
Castor traveled to Illinois and Michigan. Her visit included
discussions and site visits examining the economic impacts of
climate change, and the growing costs of inaction in the Great
Lakes region; electric buses and vehicles; and environmental
justice. As part of the Chair's trip to Illinois and Michigan,
she met with the following people:
The Honorable Sean Casten, Member of Congress
The Honorable Debbie Dingell, Member of Congress
The Honorable Andy Levin, Member of Congress
The Honorable Haley Stevens, Member of Congress
The Honorable Rashida Tlaib, Member of Congress
Bob Keefe, E2, Executive Director
Jon Sack, NRDC
Gen. John Castellaw, USMC-RET, E2
Annette Beitel, E2, President, Future Energy
Enterprises
Ellington Ellis, Co-founder and Managing Partner,
Global Battery Solutions
Milton Pinskey, CEO, Banner Realty
Randy Bell, Director, Global Energy Center,
Atlantic Council
Troy Clarke, CEO, Navistar
Walter Borst, CFO, Navistar
Darren Gosbee, VP, Advanced Engineering, Navistar
Jennifer Kelly, Research Department Head, UAW
Steve Beers, Research Analyst, UAW
Jason Wade, Research Analyst, UAW
Sergio Espinosa, Government Affairs Specialist,
IBEW
Austin Keyser, Director of Political and
Legislative Affairs, IBEW
Art Kroll, Assistant to District 2 Director,
Steelworkers
Zoe Lipman, Director, Vehicles and Advanced
Transportation Program, BlueGreen Alliance
Frank Houston, BlueGreen Alliance
James Chen, Rivian
Mark Nabong, Natural Resources Defense Council
Nick Moroz, Assistant Director of Entrepreneurial
Practice at Center for Entrepreneurship, University of
Michigan, and Commissioner, City of Plymouth, Michigan
Michelle Martinez, Michigan Environmental Justice
Coalition Coordinator
Theresa Landrum, Detroit-based environmental
justice leader
Darryl Jordan, East Michigan Environmental Action
Council
Gloria Lowe, We Want Green Too
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to New York, New York
From Saturday, September 22, 2019 through Monday, September
23, 2019, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis' Chair
Kathy Castor traveled to New York City, NY. Chair Castor
participated in the United Nation's Climate Action Summit,
speaking at the panel ``Advancing Buildings and Sustainable
Urban Infrastructure,'' which was part of the session
``Partnerships for Ambition: Unlocking the Full Potential of
Local Climate Action '' Her visit also included attending
additional side events of the summit and discussions with
international climate, finance and clean energy experts. As
part of the Chair's trip to New York, she met with the
following people:
Dirk Forrister, CEO, International Emissions
Trading Association
Jonathan Grant, Vice-Chair, International
Emissions Trading Association
Kelley Kizzier, Associate Vice President,
Environmental Defense Fund
Lord Adair Turner, Chairman, Energy Transitions
Commission
Chair Kathy Castor Trip to South Florida
From Thursday, November 7, 2019 through Friday, November 8,
2019, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis' Chair Kathy
Castor traveled to South Florida. Her visit included
discussions and site visits examining the reef ecosystem health
of the National Marine Sanctuary in North Key Largo;
environmental conservation in the Everglades National Park in
Florida; a visit to the Wall of Wind at Florida International
University to examine hurricane force winds and their impacts;
and resiliency and the impacts of coastal flooding throughout
the city of Miami Beach. As part of the Chair's trip to South
Florida, she met with the following people:
The Honorable Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Member of
Congress
The Honorable Donna Shalala, Member of Congress
The Honorable Jose Javier ``J.J.'' Rodriguez,
Senator, Florida State Senate
The Honorable Jason Pizzo, Senator, Florida State
Senate
The Honorable Dan Gelber, Mayor, City of Miami
Beach, Florida
The Honorable Nick Duran, State Representative,
Florida State House of Representatives
The Honorable Phillip Stoddard, Mayor, South
Miami, Florida
The Honorable Brent Latham, Mayor, North Bay
Village, Florida
Chris Bergh, Director of Coastal and Marine
Resilience, The Nature Conservancy
Lad Akins, Chapter Director, Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Richard Olson, Professor and Director of Extreme
Events Research, Office of the Vice President for Research,
Florida International University
Todd Crowl, Professor; Director, Institute of
Water and Environment, Florida International University
Tiffany Troxler, Research Assistant Professor;
Associate Director of Science, Sea Level Solutions Center,
Florida International University
Jayantha ``Obey'' Obeysekera, Florida
International University
Alec Bogdanoff, Principal & Co-Founder, Brizaga,
Inc.
Jim Murley, Chief Resiliency Officer, Miami-Dade
County
Jennifer Jurado, Chief Resiliency Officer, Broward
County
Michelle Burge, Chief of Staff to Mayor Dan Gelber
Jimmy Morales, City Manager of Miami Beach,
Florida
Marcia Monserrat, Chief of Staff and Legislative
Liaison to Jimmy Morales
Roy Coley, Public Works Director, City of Miami
Beach, Florida
Amy Knowles, Deputy Climate Resilience Officer,
City of Miami Beach, Florida
Susy Torriente, Assistant City Manager & Climate
Resilience Officer, City of Miami Beach, Florida
Elizabeth Wheaton, Office of Environment and
Sustainability Director, City of Miami Beach, Florida
Eleazar Melendez, Miami Climate Alliance
Ralph Rosado, City Manager of North Bay Village,
Florida
Emily Gorman, Sierra Club
Select Committee Member Trip to UNFCCC COP25
From Sunday, December 1, 2019 through Tuesday, December 3,
2019, Members of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
joined a bicameral Congressional Delegation led by Speaker
Nancy Pelosi to the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change Conference, known as COP25, held in Madrid,
Spain. The delegation engaged in several key bilateral
discussions, including with U.N. Secretary General Antonio
Guterres, H.M. King Felipe VI of Spain, President Pedro Sanchez
of Spain and European Parliament President David Sassoli.
Members participated in the COP25 opening ceremony and met
separately with international, U.S. and faith-based NGOs to
learn more about their efforts around the globe. Members also
attended a meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which
brings together the nations most at risk from the climate
crisis, at which Speaker Pelosi spoke alongside several heads
of governments including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of Bangladesh and Costa Rican
President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
Ranking Member Garret Graves Trip to California and Pennsylvania
From Friday, December 6, 2019 through Monday, December 9,
2019, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis' Ranking
Member Garret Graves traveled to California and Pennsylvania.
His visit included site visits at Department of Energy national
laboratories and discussions with innovation site leaders and
climate change stakeholders.
APPENDIX I
Printed Meetings
116-1--Organizational Meeting for the 116th Congress;
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Printed Hearings
116-2--Generation Climate: Young Leaders Urge Climate
Action Now; Thursday, April 4, 2019
116-3--Solving the Climate Crisis: Drawing Down Carbon and
Building Up the American Economy; Tuesday, April 30, 2019
116-4--Creating a Climate Resilient America; Thursday, May
23, 2019
116-5--Solving the Climate Crisis: Ramping Up Renewables;
Thursday, June 13, 2019
116-6--Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaning Up Heavy Duty
Vehicles, Protecting Communities; Tuesday, July 16, 2019
116-7--Creating a Climate Resilient America: Business Views
on the Costs of the Climate Crisis; Thursday, July 25, 2019
116-8--Colorado's Roadmap for Clean Energy Action: Lessons
from State and Local Leaders; Thursday, August 1, 2019
116-9--Solving the Climate Crisis: Manufacturing Jobs for
America's Workers; Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Voices Leading the Next Generation on the Global Climate
Crisis; Wednesday, September 18, 2019; *Joint Hearing--Print
Produced by House Foreign Affairs Committee
116-10--Solving the Climate Crisis: Reducing Industrial
Emissions Through U.S. Innovation; Thursday, September 26, 2019
116-11--Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger
Buildings; Thursday, October 17, 2019
116-12--Solving the Climate Crisis: Natural Solutions to
Cutting Pollution and Building Resilience; Tuesday, October 22,
2019
116-13--Solving the Climate Crisis: Opportunities in
Agriculture; Wednesday, October 30, 2019
116-14--Member Day; Thursday, November 14, 2019
116-15--Creating a Climate Resilient America: Reducing
Risks and Costs; Wednesday, November 20, 2019
116-16--Creating a Climate Resilient America: Smart Finance
for Strong Communities; Wednesday, December 11, 2019
116-17--Creating a Climate Resilient America: Overcoming
the Health Risks of the Climate Crisis; Wednesday, February 5,
2020
116-18--Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and
Just Clean Energy Economy; Tuesday, July 28, 2020
116-19--Creating a Climate Resilient America: Strengthening
the U.S. Financial System and Expanding Economic Opportunity;
Thursday, October 1, 2020
APPENDIX II
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
The Activity Report of the 116th Congress documents the
extensive work of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
during this Congress. In addition, the Democratic Members also
released the majority staff report ``Solving the Climate
Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy
Economy and Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.'' The staff
report lays out hundreds of policy recommendations for
congressional action and centers on 12 key pillars. The
recommendations were based on the work detailed in this
Activity Report, 700 substantive responses to the Committee's
September 2019 Request for Information, and more than a
thousand stakeholder meetings with Members and staff. These
additional views, submitted on behalf of the Select Committee
on the Climate Crisis' Majority, include the Preface and the
Executive Summary of the Climate Crisis Action Plan, which sums
up the investigatory work of the Committee over the course of
the 116th Congress and the Congressional action needed to helps
solve the climate crisis.
From ``Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a
Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America''
Preface
At the time of this report's release in June 2020, the
nation was reeling. The COVID-19 pandemic had claimed more than
120,000 lives in the United States. Months of stay-at-home
orders and business closures had put 40 million Americans out
of work, upending the livelihoods of working families. More
than one in four workers claimed unemployment benefits, and
many more struggled to navigate an often-broken unemployment
filing system. This economic crisis, which by many measures
exceeded the worst of the Great Recession, exacerbated economic
inequalities that existed before the pandemic, particularly for
women and people of color. As some states began to slowly
reopen at the end of May, the nation erupted in protest in
response to yet another police killing of a defenseless
African-American man, George Floyd. Throughout it all,
President Trump failed to lead the country in a unified and
compassionate response, instead choosing to fan the flames of
discord and distrust.
Against this backdrop, one may wonder why Select Committee
Democrats would choose to release this report with
recommendations to solve the climate crisis.
We cannot wait. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations
in May 2020 exceeded the highest monthly average ever recorded.
The planet suffered through the second hottest year ever in
2019, and May 2020 tied for the highest global May temperature
in 141 years of recordkeeping. As the Earth continues to heat
up, climate-related impacts, including heat waves, extreme
storms, droughts, and flooding, are worsening. The country's
most vulnerable populations--low-income communities and
communities of color that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19
pandemic--are most at risk, as underlying demographic,
socioeconomic, and health factors act as threat multipliers for
the dangerous impacts of climate change.
While the harmful human and economic costs of inaction
continue to compound, the solutions to climate change--
including building and rebuilding America's energy,
transportation, and manufacturing infrastructure to be cleaner
and more resilient to climate impacts--offer an opportunity to
propel the economy forward. Solving the climate crisis is hard
work, but it provides a pathway to millions of good-paying,
high-quality jobs that can fortify and expand America's middle
class. As Congress crafts legislation to help the country
rebound from the pandemic and economic crisis, clean energy and
climate investments can power short- and long-term economic
recovery.
Building a resilient, clean economy affords us another
opportunity: to acknowledge and commit to correcting past
policy failures that created the climate crisis and the
systemic economic and racial inequalities that plague our
communities today. This report offers policy recommendations
that address the urgency of the climate crisis and begin to
repair the legacy of environmental pollution that has burdened
low-income communities and communities of color for decades.
Climate solutions must have justice and equity at their core.
The protests in response to George Floyd's death are
reminders of the consequences of past inaction, while responses
to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate that Americans can
mobilize en masse to save lives. Both underscore that there are
no foregone conclusions. What we choose to do now shapes the
future. What happens next--for racial equality, for public
health, for the climate crisis--depends on us.
Executive Summary
American leadership and ingenuity are central to solving
the climate crisis. With the devastating health and economic
consequences of climate change growing at home and abroad, the
United States must act urgently, guided by science, and in
concert with the international community to provide a livable
climate for today's youth and future generations. We must
harness the technological innovation of the moonshot, the
creativity of our entrepreneurs, the strength of our workers,
and the moral force of a nation endeavoring to establish
justice for all. Working together, we will avert the worst
impacts of the climate emergency and build a stronger,
healthier, and fairer America for everyone. The Climate Crisis
Action Plan outlined in this report provides a roadmap for
Congress to build a prosperous, clean energy economy that
values workers, advances environmental justice, and is prepared
to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
A FRAMEWORK FOR CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
In January 2019, House Resolution 6 created the bipartisan
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis to ``develop
recommendations on policies, strategies, and innovations to
achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and
other activities that contribute to the climate crisis.''\1\
The resolution directed the Select Committee to deliver policy
recommendations to the standing legislative committees of
jurisdiction for their consideration and action.\2\ Over the
last 17 months, the Select Committee has consulted with
hundreds of stakeholders and scientists, solicited written
input, and held hearings to develop a robust set of legislative
policy recommendations for ambitious climate action.
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\1\H. Res. 6, ``Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives
for the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, and for other purposes,''
Section 104(f), 116th Congress.
\2\H. Res. 6 directed the Select Committee to deliver policy
recommendations by March 31, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the
Select Committee's report release until June 2020.
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In this report, the majority staff for the Select Committee
lays out a framework for comprehensive congressional action\3\
to satisfy the scientific imperative to reduce carbon pollution
as quickly and aggressively as possible, make communities more
resilient to the impacts of climate change, and build a durable
and equitable clean energy economy. To succeed, Congress needs
to put people and communities at the center of climate policy
so they can see and experience the tangible benefits of climate
action for their health and livelihoods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\This report focuses on what actions Congress should take to
address the climate crisis rather than what the White House should do
with its existing authority. Ideally, legislative and administrative
action would be complementary.
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In practical terms, this means building and rebuilding
America's infrastructure, the foundation of the American
economy and communities; reinvigorating American manufacturing
to create a new generation of secure, good-paying, high-quality
jobs; prioritizing investment where it is needed the most,
including rural and deindustrialized areas, low-income
communities, and communities of color; and beginning to repair
the legacy of economic and racial inequality that has left low-
income workers and communities of color disproportionately
exposed to pollution and more vulnerable to the costs and
impacts of climate change. By responding to the material harm
of the climate crisis, Congress will also address the moral
obligation to protect the most vulnerable and allow future
generations to thrive.
THE CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION PLAN
To have a chance at limiting warming to 1.5+C and avoiding
increasingly severe impacts from climate change, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that
global net anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions must fall by
45% from global 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net-zero by
2050.\4\ Hitting these targets will require a ``rapid and far-
reaching'' transition across the economy that is
``unprecedented in terms of scale.''\5\
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\4\Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Special Report
on Global Warming of 1.5+C (October 2018) at 14.
\5\Ibid. at 17.
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The Climate Crisis Action Plan establishes a goal of
reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide in the
United States by no later than 2050; directs the president to
set ambitious interim targets to meet or exceed that goal; and
calls for achieving net-negative greenhouse gas emissions
during the second half of the century.
The Climate Crisis Action Plan will build an American
economy that protects public health and values workers,
families, communities, and current and future generations who
are depending on Congress to tackle the existential threat of
climate change in a just and equitable way. The Climate Crisis
Action Plan lays out hundreds of recommendations for
comprehensive congressional action and centers on 12 key
pillars, as detailed below. These recommendations offer an
array of policy solutions that can benefit communities across
the country, whether they are rural or urban; create good,
local jobs; and reduce pollution.
The majority staff for the Select Committee previewed its
draft policy recommendations with the non-partisan think tank
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology LLC (``Energy
Innovation''). Energy Innovation used their open-source Energy
Policy Simulator\6\ to model the emissions reductions and co-
benefits from implementing a subset of the Select Committee's
recommendations. According to Energy Innovation's model, the
Select Committee majority staff's recommendations across the 12
pillars will set the country on a path to achieving net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The subset of recommendations
from the Climate Crisis Action Plan would:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology LLC, Energy Policy
Simulator, https://www.energypolicy.solutions/.
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Reduce net U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by
37% below 2010 levels in 2030 and 88% below 2010 levels
in 2050.\7\ The remaining 12% of emissions comes from
the hardest to decarbonize sectors, such as heavy-duty
and off-road transportation, industry, and agriculture.
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\7\This is equivalent to 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and 89%
below 2005 levels by 2050. We used the 2010 reference point because the
IPCC uses 2010 levels when it describes near-term emissions reduction
goals to limit warming to 1.5+.
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Lead the United States to reach net-zero
carbon dioxide emissions before 2050, in line with the
IPCC's guidance on emissions reductions needed to limit
warming to 1.5+C.
Deliver significant health benefits,
avoiding an estimated 62,000 premature deaths annually
by 2050, primarily by reducing fine particulate matter
pollution.
By 2050, the cumulative estimated health and
climate benefits are almost $8 trillion (real 2018 U.S.
dollars). In 2050 alone, the estimated health and
climate benefits exceed $1 trillion.
In developing the policy recommendations under each pillar
below, Congress should implement an inclusive stakeholder
process that solicits early input and feedback from those most
affected by the outcomes of the policy choices. In particular,
Congress should ``meaningfully involve and value the voices and
positions of EJ frontline and fenceline communities''\8\ and
labor organizations.
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\8\Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, https://
ajustclimate.org/about.html. Accessed June 2020.
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Pillar 1: Invest in Infrastructure to Build a Just, Equitable, and
Resilient Clean Energy Economy
Congress needs to make a deep, sustained commitment to
rebuild and modernize the nation's infrastructure to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and withstand the unavoidable impacts
of a warming climate. Doing so will create good-paying, high-
quality jobs to expand America's middle class and lay a solid
foundation for an equitable economy.
BUILD A CLEANER AND MORE RESILIENT ELECTRICITY SECTOR TO ACHIEVE NET-
ZERO EMISSIONS FROM POWER GENERATION BY 2040
Decarbonization of the electricity sector is the linchpin
of any national strategy to achieve net-zero emissions economy-
wide by no later than 2050. Electrification of key end uses in
the transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors will be
essential to cut emissions from those sectors. Electrification
only works as a decarbonization strategy, however, if the grid
is as clean as possible as soon as possible. Energy efficiency
can moderate the expected increase in electricity demand from
electrification and reduce energy costs for consumers.
As the electricity grid becomes the central feature of a
comprehensive climate strategy, its reliability and resilience
to climate-related threats becomes even more paramount. Recent
events have shown that the electricity grid is vulnerable to
climate-related disasters, such as extreme storms that knock
down power lines, but also can trigger disasters, such as
wildfires sparked by power lines igniting vegetation in hot and
dry conditions.
Policy Toplines: Congress should enact a Clean Energy
Standard to achieve net-zero emissions in the electricity
sector by 2040 and an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard to
smooth out rising electricity demand from electrification and
save consumers money on their power bills. Congress should
extend and expand clean energy tax incentives and grant
programs, such as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block
Grant Program, to maximize near-term deployment of energy
efficiency, renewable energy, and zero-carbon electricity
sources. For the longer term, Congress needs to invest in
research and development across technologies, but particularly
in energy storage. Congress should ensure that low-income
communities and communities of color have equitable access to
and benefit from these clean energy resources.
To fully harness the country's vast renewable energy
resources onshore and offshore, Congress must direct the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop a long-
range transmission infrastructure strategy to site more
interstate transmission lines in high-priority corridors.
Congress also should direct FERC to remove roadblocks in power
markets that slow the growth of electricity generation from
clean sources.
To make the grid more resilient to climate impacts,
Congress will need to partner with state, local, tribal, and
territorial governments, utilities, workers, and communities to
harden the electric grid's physical infrastructure; deploy new
technologies to detect grid disruptions quickly; and facilitate
community access to clean microgrids and distributed energy
resources to make households less reliant on the centralized
grid.
BUILD A CLEANER AND MORE RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
The transportation sector--including cars, trucks, buses,
airplanes, ships, rail, and other modes--is the largest source
of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United
States. Across modes, the story is similar: emissions are a
function of the vehicle's fuel efficiency, the fuel's carbon
intensity, and the number of miles traveled each year. Each
part of the transportation sector, however, is at a different
stage of zero-emission technological innovation and faces
unique challenges to decarbonization and, as a result, may
require a tailored policy approach.
Well-designed policy should lead to new manufacturing and
supply chain innovations that create good-paying jobs at home
and bolster American competitiveness.
In addition to contributing to the climate problem,
transportation infrastructure is heavily exposed to extreme
weather and climate impacts, from floods that wash out bridges
and roads to heat waves that ground airplanes. Without
proactive action to build resilience, climate change will
compromise the reliability and capacity of even the cleanest
transportation systems.
Policy Toplines: Congress should expedite deployment of
zero-emission technologies in the sectors where they are
already available while making new gasoline- and diesel-powered
vehicles as clean as possible. This should include setting
strong greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars, heavy-duty
trucks, and aviation; enacting a national sales standard to
achieve 100% sales of zero-emission cars by 2035 and heavy-duty
trucks by 2040; and providing incentives to build out zero-
emission fueling infrastructure across the country. Ambitious
initiatives to ensure more domestic manufacturing of cleaner
vehicles and their components must accompany these policies. At
the same time, Congress should establish a Low Carbon Fuel
Standard to reduce emissions from remaining gasoline-powered
vehicles and transportation modes for which electrification may
not be an option in the short to medium term, such as aviation,
long-haul trucking, and shipping. Congress also should invest
in aggressive research to develop and demonstrate new zero-
emission technologies and fuels for these harder-to-decarbonize
parts of the transportation sector.
Cutting pollution from passenger vehicles becomes a more
challenging task if drivers must travel farther each year to
access jobs and services. Congress needs to work with local
communities and states to make housing, businesses, and
critical services more accessible and double federal spending
on public transit and other zero-carbon modes to provide
households with more lower-carbon, convenient, and affordable
transportation options. Federal policy should ensure that all
transportation systems are designed, maintained, and repaired
to withstand climate impacts.
BUILD AND UPGRADE HOMES AND BUSINESSES TO MAXIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
AND ELIMINATE EMISSIONS
Buildings account for 40% of U.S. energy use. To fully
decarbonize the building sector, new and existing buildings
must maximize energy efficiency, generate clean energy onsite
or nearby where feasible, electrify end uses as the grid
decarbonizes, and eliminate emissions from building
construction and materials. This transformation will require
massive investments to reach all communities and the millions
of U.S. buildings that vary in size, age, climate, purpose,
ownership, and use. These investments will boost local economic
development, create good-paying jobs, and improve quality of
life in communities across the country. The federal government
must work in partnership with state and local governments, as
they largely have authority over the design and construction of
residential and commercial buildings in their jurisdictions.
Policy Toplines: Congress should incentivize states and
cities to adopt updated model building codes, including net-
zero-emission building codes, and establish tax incentives for
the construction of net-zero buildings, with the goal of making
all new residential and commercial buildings net-zero emissions
by 2030. Congress should require new federal buildings to
achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 as well. To reduce energy
use and emissions from existing buildings, Congress should set
benchmarking requirements for commercial buildings and
encourage cities and states to adopt performance-based
standards for buildings; provide incentives for energy
efficiency improvements, onsite renewable energy generation,
and electrification of end uses in buildings, such as space and
water heating; invest in large-scale weatherization and
efficiency in low-income and frontline communities; and require
federal buildings to undergo deep energy retrofits, perform
energy and emissions benchmarking, and meet ambitious energy
use and emissions intensity targets. To reduce emissions from
building construction, Congress should incentivize building
reuse and require federal buildings to use lower-emission
building materials.
INVEST IN WATER SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE CLEAN WATER AND PREVENT CATASTROPHIC
FLOODING
Water systems across the nation are under stress due to
chronic underinvestment and deferred maintenance, particularly
in low-income communities and communities of color. The climate
crisis threatens to increase public health and safety
emergencies as conditions overwhelm water and wastewater
infrastructure, levees, and dams. While the investment needed
is substantial, the costs of continued neglect are far greater.
Policy Toplines: Congress should establish new standards
for water infrastructure resilience that account for climate
impacts, including more frequent and damaging floods, droughts,
and erosion. Congress also should ensure robust public
engagement in water infrastructure projects, particularly for
environmental justice communities whose input should inform
decisions about how to reduce climate impacts. Congress will
need to integrate nature-based strategies and apply innovative
finance approaches to ensure safe and clean water supplies,
efficient wastewater treatment, and dams and levees that are
appropriately sited, designed, and maintained to last under
increasingly extreme conditions.
PREPARE THE NATION'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS FOR CLIMATE IMPACTS
The reliability of wireless and broadband networks is
critical for climate resilience. Failures in wireless networks
hamper disaster response and 9-1-1 services, and uneven access
to broadband creates a ``digital divide'' that broadens
existing inequities for frontline and rural communities most
affected by the climate crisis.
Policy Toplines: Congress should invest in Next Generation
9-1-1 and direct the Federal Communications Commission to
ensure the reliability of wireless communications networks
during disasters. Congress should expand broadband networks
with the goal of achieving reliable and universal access and
providing continuity of internet services for education,
telemedicine, and other essential needs during disasters.
PLUG LEAKS AND CUT POLLUTION FROM AMERICA'S OIL AND GAS INFRASTRUCTURE
Leaky oil and natural gas infrastructure, from well pads to
pipelines, allows methane, a climate super-pollutant, to escape
into the atmosphere. Technology exists to detect these leaks
and even capture the methane for profitable sale. Oil and gas
production and transmission also pose risks to air and water
quality but enjoy exemptions from cornerstone environmental
laws.
Policy Toplines: Congress should set a national methane
pollution reduction goal for the oil and gas sector of 65% to
70% by 2025 and 90% by 2030, relative to 2012 levels, and phase
out routine flaring of methane. For pipelines, Congress should
direct regulators to set new standards for pipeline operators
to detect and repair methane leaks; provide financial support
for cities and states to eliminate methane leaks from natural
gas distribution lines within 10 years; and update the Federal
Power Act to ensure FERC considers climate science and public
input when siting new natural gas infrastructure. Congress also
should close exemptions for the oil and gas industry in the
Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Recovery and
Conservation Act.
Pillar 2: Drive Innovation and Deployment of Clean Energy and Deep
Decarbonization Technologies
IPCC scientists have shown that the world needs to deploy
clean energy technologies as quickly as possible to slash
greenhouse gas emissions and limit warming to 1.5+C. Market
forces and state and federal policies are driving some clean
energy deployment already, but substantial public and private
investment would accelerate this trend. Full decarbonization of
the economy, however, may require new technologies that have
yet to be invented. Robust innovation policy at all process
stages--research, development, demonstration, and deployment--
will be critical to the timely and widespread implementation of
new clean energy and other decarbonization technologies.
Policy Toplines: Congress should support all stages of
climate-related innovation by recommitting to Mission
Innovation--a global initiative working to accelerate global
clean energy innovation--and boosting funding for federal clean
energy research, development, and demonstration; prioritizing
climate in the Department of Energy's (DOE's) mission and
reorganizing DOE to meet this goal; facilitating technology
transfer and commercialization through initiatives like
regional energy innovation partnerships; and creating a
national climate bank and expanding the DOE loan guarantee
program to leverage private investment for deployment of
decarbonization technologies and climate-resilient
infrastructure. Congress should start a DOE Energy Justice and
Democracy program to ensure environmental justice communities
have access to innovations in energy efficiency and renewable
energy and to reduce energy poverty. To shift private capital
toward climate-smart investments, Congress should require
corporate disclosure and federal analysis of climate-related
financial risks.
Pillar 3: Transform U.S. Industry and Expand Domestic Manufacturing of
Clean Energy and Zero-Emission Technologies
The world is on the cusp of a manufacturing and industrial
transformation inspired by the need to deploy zero-emission
technologies and build cleaner, more resilient infrastructure.
The United States has an opportunity to establish itself as a
global leader in this transformation and spur a new generation
of good-paying, high-quality manufacturing jobs in the process.
REBUILD U.S. INDUSTRY FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
The industrial sector may be one of the most challenging to
decarbonize, given its diversity and reliance on energy-
intensive processes. Eliminating industrial emissions depends
on the discovery of new technologies and the development and
deployment of platform technologies, such as industrial
efficiency, electrification, carbon capture, low-emission
hydrogen, and materials recirculation and substitution. A
comprehensive approach to achieve a net-zero-emissions
industrial sector by midcentury would enhance U.S.
competitiveness, create high-quality domestic jobs, and ensure
clean, safe, fair, and equitable industrial development for
workers and communities.
Policy Toplines: Congress should establish performance
standards to guarantee emissions reductions from industrial
facilities and pair them with border adjustment mechanisms to
level the playing field with foreign goods made with higher-
polluting processes. To complement these standards, Congress
should support research, development, and demonstration of
breakthrough and platform technologies for industrial
decarbonization, including carbon capture, utilization, and
storage; provide firms in the industrial sector with access to
revolving loan funds, grants, and tax incentives for efficiency
upgrades, process changes, and retooling; develop
infrastructure for key decarbonization technologies, including
low- and zero-carbon hydrogen; and create markets for low-
emission goods through a federal Buy Clean program. Congress
should facilitate the transition to a circular economy that
eliminates waste and pollution by supporting research and
development, infrastructure, and standards for materials
efficiency, substitution, and recycling.
INVEST IN DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF CLEAN ENERGY, CLEAN VEHICLE, AND
ZERO-EMISSION TECHNOLOGIES
American innovation will be critical to solving the global
climate crisis, but it is only one measure of U.S. leadership.
American workers also should be the ones to manufacture these
American ideas, creating high-quality jobs at home and robust
export markets abroad.
Policy Toplines: To spur more domestic manufacturing,
Congress should create a tax credit to retool, expand, or
establish domestic clean energy and grid technology
manufacturing facilities; establish a production tax credit for
clean energy, energy efficiency, and decarbonization
technologies and products; expand DOE grant programs and loan
guarantees to construct new or retool existing U.S. facilities
to manufacture zero-emission vehicles; and develop national
strategies for clean technology manufacturing and critical
mineral supply chains. Congress should tie federal funding for
innovation to domestic manufacturing of resulting technologies.
Congress should also leverage federal procurement policies to
build demand for domestic clean energy and zero-emission
technologies and products.
DEVELOP, MANUFACTURE, AND DEPLOY CUTTING-EDGE CARBON REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY
According to the IPCC, all pathways that limit global
warming to 1.5+C require carbon dioxide removal, such as direct
air capture, to achieve net negative emissions.\9\ The United
States has the opportunity to lead the world in developing,
deploying, and exporting this essential technology.
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\9\Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on
Global Warming of 1.5+C (October 2018) at 14.
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Policy Toplines: To jumpstart a direct air capture industry
in the United States, Congress should dramatically increase
federal investment in carbon removal research and development;
improve financial incentives for direct air capture technology;
expand demonstration projects to safely store carbon below
ground; and create markets for fuels made from carbon captured
from the atmosphere.
Pillar 4: Break Down Barriers for Clean Energy Technologies
Clean energy technology faces several structural barriers
to rapid and widespread deployment. At the top of the list is a
tax code that benefits oil, coal, and other incumbent energy
technologies over new technologies and an economic system that
fails to account for the cost of carbon pollution from fossil
fuel combustion.
Policy Toplines: Congress should repeal tax breaks for
large oil and gas companies as a first step toward building a
fairer tax code that supports reaching net-zero emissions by
2050 at the latest. Congress also should put a price on carbon
to correct the failure of the market to account for the costs
of unmitigated pollution. Carbon pricing is not a silver bullet
and should complement a suite of policies to achieve deep
pollution reductions and strengthen community resilience to
climate impacts. Congress should pair a price with policies to
achieve measurable pollution reductions from facilities located
in environmental justice communities and policies to ensure
energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries do not face unfair
competition from foreign competitors using dirty technologies.
Pillar 5: Invest in America's Workers and Build a Fairer Economy
Tackling climate change and reaching net-zero emissions as
soon as possible offers a unique opportunity to rebuild the
economy on a stronger foundation of equity and fairness for
workers and their communities. Smart climate policy must
provide tangible benefits to economically vulnerable
communities, put working people front and center, and deliver
good-paying, high-quality jobs and accessible career pathways
into them for all Americans. Building a clean energy economy
can help put unemployed Americans back to work and relieve the
economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress also
needs to respect the contributions of coal miners and other
fossil fuel workers and provide a comprehensive set of systemic
supports for these workers and their communities.
Policy Toplines: Congress should secure workers' right to
organize a union and negotiate for higher wages, safer working
conditions, and better benefits. As it reauthorizes and
considers new investments in clean infrastructure, Congress
should commit federal funding only to projects that meet strong
labor standards. To support veterans of the coal industry and
communities most affected by the economic transition away from
fossil fuels, Congress should establish a National Economic
Transition Office to coordinate, scale up, and target federal
economic and workforce development assistance to communities
and workers.
Pillar 6: Invest in Disproportionately Exposed Communities to Cut
Pollution and Advance Environmental Justice
In the United States, communities of color, low-income
communities, and tribal and Indigenous communities ``are
disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards that
include exposure to polluted air, waterways, and
landscapes.''\10\ These same communities are more vulnerable to
the health impacts and escalating costs of climate change.
Federal climate policy needs to ``improve the public health and
well-being of all communities while tackling the climate crisis
and environmental racism head-on.''\11\ Engaging leaders from
these communities early in the policymaking process and
soliciting their expertise throughout is essential for ensuring
the policies will work in their communities and benefit those
most in need.
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\10\Environmental Justice for All Act, Section 1.
\11\Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, https://
ajustclimate.org/about.html. Accessed June 2020.
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Policy Toplines: Environmental justice must be at the
center of federal climate and environmental policy. Congress
should direct the Environmental Protection Agency to consider
the cumulative pollution impacts of the facilities it permits;
support federal and academic research of the cumulative and
distributional impacts of federal climate, health, and
environmental policy on environmental justice communities;
prioritize these communities for new federal spending and
projects to deploy clean energy and replace aging
infrastructure; collaborate with USDA, tribes, environmental
justice communities, and NGOs to address food insecurity;
ensure meaningful federal engagement and consultation with
environmental justice communities; and increase the capacity of
environmental justice communities to participate in the
policymaking process.
Pillar 7: Improve Public Health and Manage Climate Risks to Health
Infrastructure
The impacts of climate change disproportionately affect the
health of frontline communities and vulnerable populations who
have fewer resources to cope with heat waves, degraded air
quality, flash flooding, infectious disease, and other threats.
People need a robust public health system to rely on for help
when facing these threats or when hit with a natural disaster.
Too often, health care systems are not prepared or equipped to
respond to large-scale events, as demonstrated by the COVID-19
pandemic.
Policy Toplines: Congress should direct the Department of
Health and Human Services to develop a national strategic
action plan to assist communities and health departments in
preparing for and responding to climate-related health risks,
including the health-related needs of frontline communities and
vulnerable populations that are disproportionately harmed by
extreme weather, pollution, food insecurity, and other effects
of climate change. Congress also should increase U.S. support
for global surveillance and response to potential health
threats; strengthen supply chains for health commodities;
expand the capacity of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to support state, local, tribal, and territorial
health departments in their climate-related work; boost funding
for programs to make health systems more resilient to climate
impacts; and increase support to address the mental and
emotional health effects of the climate crisis.
Pillar 8: Invest in American Agriculture for Climate Solutions
America's farmers and ranchers are critical partners in
solving the climate crisis, as many agricultural practices can
provide valuable climate and ecosystems benefits. Climate
stewardship practices such as no- and low-till farming,
planting cover crops, diversified crop rotations, rotational
grazing, and improved nutrient management, reduce emissions,
enhance carbon sequestration, and make soils more resilient to
extreme weather. Many farmers interested in adopting these
practices would benefit from upfront financial and technical
assistance from the Department of Agriculture, local
conservation districts, extension services, and land-grant
universities, including historically black colleges and
universities and tribal colleges.
Policy Toplines: Congress should dramatically increase
investments to support the efforts of America's farmers and
ranchers to employ climate stewardship practices. This federal
commitment to farmers should include more funding for Farm Bill
conservation programs and expanded financial and technical
assistance to farmers and ranchers, with a focus on climate
mitigation and resilience. Further, Congress should set climate
stewardship practice goals across all U.S. farmland and expand
Department of Agriculture resources, research, and partnerships
to increase federal capacity to encourage widespread adoption
of climate stewardship practices. To support the next
generation of farmers and build a fair, equitable, and climate-
friendly food system, Congress should embed climate mitigation
and adaptation into programs for new, beginning, and socially
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and increase investments in
these programs. Congress also should incentivize farmers and
ranchers to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy
on-farm and protect their farmland from development and other
non-agricultural uses. As part of a comprehensive approach,
Congress also should support local and regional food systems
and develop initiatives to combat food waste.
Pillar 9: Make U.S. Communities More Resilient to the Impacts of
Climate Change
The effects of climate change are already manifesting
across the nation and are projected to intensify, including
rising temperatures, increasingly severe storms, and damaging
wildfires. While many communities are taking action to respond
to these threats, the federal government needs to help them
better manage land use, adopt robust building codes and
development standards, and transition away from areas of
growing risk to safer ground. Bridging the resilience gap will
require substantial public and private investment and
incorporation of climate risks into program design and
priorities to ensure efficient use of funds.
SUPPORT COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP IN CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND EQUITY
State, local, tribal, and territorial leaders know
firsthand the threats posed by the climate crisis to community
wellbeing. Many have already taken steps to reduce emissions
and prepare their communities to be more resilient. Federal
action is needed to support communities that struggle with lack
of information, guidance, and funding to build local capacities
and capabilities and to confront the existential threats of
rising seas, wildfires, and extreme weather.
Policy Toplines: Congress should establish a National
Climate Adaptation Program to deliver technical assistance to
states, local governments, tribes, and territories (SLTT),
support SLTT planning, and invest in community adaptation and
resilience projects with meaningful public participation,
especially for environmental justice communities. Congress
should establish a Tribal Government Task Force to coordinate
across the federal government to overcome barriers to
assistance, build or augment tribal technical capability, and
ensure equitable baseline funding. Planning and investments for
climate resilience should build local workforce capabilities
and provide good jobs for vibrant regional economies.
BUILD--AND REBUILD--BASED ON ACTIONABLE SCIENCE, CODES, AND STANDARDS
Governments, businesses, communities, and households need
reliable information to respond to climate-related risks.
Building codes and standards should reflect the latest climate
risk information to ensure greater resilience against floods,
wildfires, tropical cyclones, and other hazards. Adoption of
strong codes and standards can increase property values while
reducing risks and insurance costs.
Policy Toplines: Congress should establish a Climate Risk
Information Service to develop localized climate risk
information and embed climate risk projections in development
of resilience codes, specifications, and standards. Congress
should establish federal flood and wildfire resilience
standards for federally supported activities, including
investments in climate resilience and disaster recovery.
Congress should revise the federal tax code to incentivize
state, local, and private investments in resilience.
REDUCE CLIMATE DISASTER RISKS AND ACCELERATE DISASTER RECOVERY
Since 2005, the federal government has spent at least $450
billion on disaster assistance. Weather disasters and related
federal spending are expected to increase due to climate
change. These impacts are hitting low-income households,
farmers, and traditionally marginalized communities hardest,
driving a downward trend in livability and social resilience.
Policy Toplines: Congress must dramatically increase and
provide stable federal investment in pre-disaster mitigation
and resilient disaster recovery to strengthen infrastructure,
support affordable and resilient housing, and help families,
businesses, and communities that are seeking federal assistance
to move out of the riskiest areas. Congress also must reform
federal flood mapping and insurance programs to deliver
forward-looking projections, help low-income households afford
flood insurance, and expand coverage to reduce uninsured flood
losses. Congress should call for a national wildfire mitigation
strategy and increase federal investment in wildfire resilience
to reduce the risk of loss of life, property, and natural
resources to destructive wildfires. In all instances, Congress
must prioritize investments to assure no one repeatedly suffers
the impacts of climate change, including frontline communities,
rural communities, and small businesses.
MAKE CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLANNING AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCY
OPERATIONS
Climate change is already affecting the operations of every
agency in the federal government, and the impacts will continue
to get worse as the planet warms. Federal agencies, from the
U.S. Postal Service to the Department of Defense, need to plan
for how they will deliver essential services amidst climate
disruptions and coordinate that planning with state, local,
tribal, and territorial partners.
Policy Toplines: Congress should require climate adaptation
planning and coordination to address the ways that the climate
crisis can disrupt federal agencies and their missions and
operations. Agency adaptation plans need to identify
opportunities to address climate impacts on environmental
justice communities and vulnerable populations. Congress also
should require major government suppliers to disclose
greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks to their supply
chains and operations as a consideration for the award of
federal contracts.
Pillar 10: Protect and Restore America's Lands, Waters, Ocean, and
Wildlife
America's landscapes and natural resources have significant
potential to sequester carbon, provide important habitat for
wildlife, and make ecosystems and communities more resilient to
the impacts of climate change. Ecosystems such as forests,
grasslands, and wetlands are natural and efficient carbon
sinks, capturing and storing carbon in roots, plants, and
soils. To make America's public lands and ocean a net carbon
sink and a central feature of a comprehensive climate strategy,
U.S. land management agencies must limit new fossil fuel
leasing on public lands and waters, increase renewable energy
production, and maximize deployment of natural climate
solutions such as reforestation and wetland restoration.
CAPTURE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF NATURAL CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Storing carbon in natural systems is a proven and cost-
effective way to deliver large-scale carbon dioxide reductions
and improve community and ecosystem resilience. By expanding
protections for America's lands, waters, and ocean, Congress
can reverse decades of deforestation, bolster the capacity of
nature to store carbon, and avert pollution from land
disturbance and extractive activities.
Policy Toplines: Congress should establish a national goal
of protecting at least 30% of all U.S. lands and ocean areas by
2030, prioritizing federal and nonfederal lands and waters with
high ecological, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration value.
Currently, just 12% of U.S. lands and 26% of the U.S. ocean--
primarily marine monuments in the remote Western Pacific or
northwestern Hawaii--are permanently protected. To achieve this
goal, Congress should conserve and restore landscapes, natural
spaces, and America's treasured public lands through high-value
protection designation and direct federal land management
agencies to work collaboratively with tribes, state
governments, private landowners, and local communities.
Congress should also develop and fund initiatives to ensure
equitable access to these natural spaces for individuals in
environmental justice communities.
Forests and ``blue carbon systems''--including ocean,
wetland, and riverine ecosystems--are critical carbon sinks and
provide important resilience services. Congress should protect
mature and old growth forests; invest in forest restoration,
reforestation, and afforestation on public and private lands,
including urban areas to improve urban tree canopy; manage
wildfire for community safety and ecological health; ensure
forest management activities focus on climate and biodiversity
benefits; and protect and restore native grasslands. To
complete this natural resources restoration work, Congress
should re-establish the Civilian Conservation Corps. Congress
also should protect, conserve, and restore ``blue carbon
systems'' to capture carbon and protect shorelines from
flooding and storms; scale up responsibly-sited ocean-based
renewable energy; address ocean acidification and biodiversity
decline; incorporate climate adaptation into fisheries
management; and prioritize natural infrastructure for coastal
resilience.
Natural climate solutions also protect wildlife and
endangered species, which face myriad challenges from climate
change. Congress should create wildlife corridors to facilitate
migration, range expansion, and mating; direct federal natural
resources agencies to develop a coordinated landscape-scale
conservation strategy to help species adapt to a changing
climate; support efforts by private landowners to protect
wildlife habitat on their land; and improve implementation of
the Endangered Species Act in the context of climate change.
MAKE PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS A PART OF THE CLIMATE SOLUTION
Fossil fuel extraction on public lands is responsible for
nearly a quarter of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, making
public lands a net-emitter of greenhouse gas pollution. A
comprehensive federal strategy should transform America's
public lands and waters into valuable carbon sinks and a
cornerstone of a successful climate plan.
Policy Toplines: Congress should direct federal land
management agencies to develop a comprehensive public lands
climate plan to achieve net-zero emissions on public lands and
waters by 2040 at the latest. To achieve this goal, Congress
should impose a moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases on
public lands while ensuring robust economic development and
worker transition assistance for communities dependent on
fossil fuel extraction; prohibit new offshore oil and gas
leasing in all areas of the Outer Continental Shelf; reduce
methane pollution from oil and gas extraction; and increase
renewable energy production. Additionally, Congress should
protect wild and special places and make them off-limits to
drilling and mining activities, including America's last
remaining wild landscapes, irreplaceable cultural sites,
national parks and monuments, and important wildlife habitat
and corridors. Congress should also eliminate unfair and
expensive government subsidies for oil and gas drilling on
public lands; establish and maintain robust environmental
review of and bonding requirements for all proposed projects on
public lands; and reclaim orphaned wells that pose a safety and
environmental threat.
Pillar 11: Confront Climate Risks to America's National Security and
Restore America's Leadership on the International Stage
The climate crisis is an urgent threat to our nation and to
global security, as extreme conditions affect defense
facilities, operations, and personnel. Catastrophes at home and
abroad increase the need for humanitarian response and aid. The
climate crisis amplifies geopolitical threats as resource
scarcity and catastrophic events fuel conflict, mass migration,
and social and political strife. Federal leadership requires
coordination across the science, security, and defense
enterprises to confront threats to military infrastructure and
operations and global security.
At the same time, international engagement is crucial to
addressing the climate crisis. The opportunity to advance
climate solutions should be a priority for the United States in
our multilateral, bilateral, international development, and
humanitarian efforts. A future president committed to climate
action likely will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, but
Congress also must take steps to ensure that the United States
continues to support global progress on climate change.
Policy Toplines: Congress should require consideration of
climate risks in defense procurement, logistics, and supply
chains and ensure collaboration in climate adaptation and
resilience planning among military installations and
neighboring communities. Congress should direct agencies with
national defense, homeland security, and science missions to
identify and confront climate security threats to the homeland
to safeguard critical infrastructure, protect public health,
and prepare for climate-driven internal and cross-border
migration.
Internationally, Congress should deliver on U.S. financial
commitments to the Green Climate Fund and should advance clean
energy and climate resilience in international missions and
aid, including supporting greater participation of women in
economic development planning and climate solutions. Congress
should expand support for stopping deforestation and reducing
black carbon pollution, two important drivers of climate
change. Congress also should improve Arctic engagement and
diplomacy given the rapid environmental changes in the region.
Pillar 12: Strengthen America's Core Institutions to Facilitate Climate
Action
Action on climate change requires robust science and strong
democratic institutions to foster transparency, inclusion, and
government accountability.
STRENGTHEN CLIMATE SCIENCE
Climate science is the foundation of national and
international efforts to address the climate crisis. Scientists
and educators need strong federal funding support to advance
efforts to observe, monitor, model, and understand Earth's
interconnected weather and climate system and to develop the
next generation of climate scientists and a climate-literate
public and workforce. Federal agencies also need safeguards to
protect science from political interference.
Policy Toplines: Congress should strengthen and sustain
federal support for climate science, including national and
international climate assessments, foundational Earth system
science research, studies of climate impacts on human and
natural systems, and governance approaches for the risks of
atmospheric climate intervention. Congress should strengthen
federal scientific integrity policies and ensure that federal
agencies act on the best available science. Congress should
expand and sustain federal support for climate literacy and
STEM education, with an emphasis on removing barriers and
broadening participation for underrepresented groups. Congress
also should revive the Office of Technology Assessment to
provide Members of Congress with nonpartisan scientific and
technology expertise.
ASSESS THE TRUE VALUE OF FEDERAL CLIMATE ACTION
Members of Congress have access to unique services,
including the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and
Congressional Research Service, to help them understand the
potential impacts of proposed legislation. Many of these
services, however, are not equipped or resourced to assess the
technological complexities of climate change solutions or
calculate the intergenerational costs and benefits of climate-
related legislation. The executive branch faces similar
challenges when evaluating federal projects against the risks
of climate impacts, such as flooding and wildfire.
Policy Toplines: Congress should expand CBO's capacity to
analyze the fiscal and economic impacts of proposed legislation
related to climate risk. For the executive branch, Congress
should establish an interagency working group to update the
``Social Cost of Carbon'' to reflect the best available climate
science and direct OMB to work with the National Academies of
Science, Engineering, and Medicine to improve agencies' ability
to assess the costs and benefits of projects to improve
community climate resilience.
STRENGTHEN THE COUNTRY'S DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
All recommendations in this report will be more difficult
to implement if entrenched interests--those that do not want to
transition to a net-zero clean economy--continue to have a
greater say in the political process than average Americans,
the majority of whom support action to address climate change
and advance clean energy. State voter discrimination policies
attempt to suppress the vote of those who are most often
burdened by pollution and face the greatest impacts from
climate change--low-income communities and communities of
color.
Policy Toplines: In 2019, the House of Representatives
passed two bills that illustrate the type of change that may be
necessary to build a healthier, more responsive democracy. H.R.
1, the For the People Act, tackles three core issues: campaign
finance reform, voting rights, and federal ethics laws. H.R. 4,
the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019, restores the full
protections of the bipartisan Voting Rights Act to block state
and local voter discrimination policies.
Full report available at https://climatecrisis.house.gov/
report and https://docs.house.gov/meetings/CN/CN00/CPRT-116-
CN00-D001.pdf
Kathy Castor,
Chair, Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis.
Ben Ray Lujan.
Suzanne Bonamici.
Julia Brownley.
Jared Huffman.
A. Donald McEachin.
Mike Levin.
Sean Casten.
Joe Neguse.
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