Nonprofits active in every region of the country say renewable power mandate is key to solving climate change, creating new jobs, and addressing equity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 22, 2021
Contact: Laura Cofsky, laura@chesapeakeclimate.org, 202-642-9336
Mike Tidwell, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-460-583
WASHINGTON, DC — Six of the nation’s best-known groups fighting climate change at the state and regional levels today asked Congress to quickly pass President Biden’s proposal for 100% clean electricity nationwide by 2035. Such a measure, the groups say, would dramatically build on proven local successes in using clean-energy mandates to create jobs, clean the air, and fight climate change.
As a candidate, Joe Biden pledged to quickly enact legislation mandating that all the nation’s electricity be carbon-pollution free by the year 2035. That legislative vote will likely come before Congress soon – sometime this spring.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders today, the regional leaders said such a policy was “vital” in the fight against global warming while rebuilding the US economy with environmental justice. Read the letter here.
The six signatory groups are active in 27 states whose populations, collectively, exceed 155 million people.
Said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, one of the signatory groups:
“Congress, right now, must build on state-based successes in advancing wind and solar and other clean electricity sources. Joe Biden’s 100%-by-2035 plan will have a global impact while capitalizing on these state-based track records. We’ve already created 2.5 million jobs using similar policies in regions from New England to the Pacific Northwest and from the Chesapeake Bay to the Rocky Mountains. It’s now time for Congress to make 100% clean electricity our national policy.”
Groups signing today’s letter to Congress are:
- Chesapeake Climate Action Network – Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, D.C.
- Climate Solutions – Oregon, Washington
- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy – Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi
- Acadia Center – Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York
- Western Resources Advocates – Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
- Fresh Energy – Minnesota
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The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For nearly 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
