To Meet Climate Crisis, Congress Must Cut Carbon, Invest in Clean Energy and Protect Disadvantaged Communities

WASHINGTON - The White House and congressional leaders are negotiating key components of the climate action President Biden called for in the Build Back Better agenda.
 

Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, made the following statement:

“Cutting carbon pollution 50-52 percent by 2030 is the cornerstone objective of President Biden’s promise on climate – and that’s what Congress must enact. With a crisis this urgent, and stakes this high, the nation expects no less.
 

“The reconciliation package must provide a credible pathway to the carbon reductions we need to avert a climate catastrophe.
 

“That means real incentives that help clean up our dirty power plants, speed the shift to electric cars, and cap the abandoned oil and gas wells that threaten our communities. It means expanding access to sustainable public transit, for every community, and modernizing our factories, buildings and power grid and storage systems. And it means directing at least 40 percent of this investment to the historically disadvantaged communities that pay the highest price for the hazard and harm of fossil fuels and climate change. 

“That’s what it will take to tackle the climate crisis, drive equitable recovery and create healthier, more just and more prosperous communities.”

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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.