Hill Heat

Pres. Biden announces bipartisan infrastructure deal with eight of the 21 white U.S. Senators who negotiated the package.

With the so-called “no double-dip” rule, President Biden and 21 senators have negotiated a deal on the Build Back Better agenda that threatens several of his major climate and racial justice initiatives. The senators, all of whom are white, protected industry priorities in their deal.

At risk include programs for restoring minority neighborhoods cleaved by racially unjust highway projects, cut 96 percent, and for replacing all the lead water pipes in the nation, cut 67 percent.

In May, Biden proposed $6 trillion in public investment ($5 trillion in new spending) over ten years, in the form of the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, a $1.9 trillion American Families Plan, and about $1.5 trillion more in other spending.

Biden’s proposed plan was significantly smaller than that advocated by Green New Dealers, who called for $10 trillion in spending over ten years to build a just and sustainable economy.

After months of Senate negotiations, Biden’s plan was cut down to about $4.5 trillion, broken into two legislative components – a $1 trillion ($550 billion in new spending) bipartisan “physical infrastructure” package passed by the Senate by a filibuster-proof majority, and a $3.5-trillion reconciliation package intended to pass with only Democratic votes.

The bipartisan package is a fully detailed bill, while the reconciliation package, at least publicly, remains a top-level skeleton that remains to be fleshed out.

The bipartisan package includes nearly the full amounts requested by Biden for traditional fossil-fuel-intensive infrastructure: $110 billion for roads and bridges, $25 billion for airports, and $17 billion for waterways and ports. In addition, there is $16 billion to bail out oil and gas companies to clean up their abandoned wells.

The “double-dip” deal is this: any initiative which received any monies in the bipartisan package cannot receive more in the reconciliation package. As Politico reported on June 30:

The president said something really important the other day and nobody noticed. At his press conference celebrating the bipartisan infrastructure deal, Joe Biden suggested there would be no coming back for seconds: When it comes to spending on basic physical infrastructure (for roads, bridges, public transportation, etc.), the bipartisan deal is it. There will be no using the parallel, Democrats-only reconciliation package to spend more on those things than Republicans agreed to.

Instead, Biden indicated, the reconciliation bill is exclusively for stuff that Democrats want but Republicans oppose — like spending for family care, climate change and health care.

This may seem like a minor point, but it has big implications. On the left, some progressives have argued that they would simply add to the reconciliation bill anything that wasn’t fully funded in the bipartisan bill. That’s not happening. Biden wanted $157 billion for electric vehicles. The bipartisan bill spends $15 billion. He wanted $100 billion for broadband, and he secured $65 billion. From the White House’s perspective, these issues are now resolved and the reconciliation bill can’t be used to take another crack at them.

We checked with the White House, and officials confirmed that this interpretation is correct.

On the right, some conservatives have argued that voting for the bipartisan deal is pointless because Democrats will simply take what they can get from Republicans on highway spending or airports and then get the rest in the reconciliation bill.

But what’s actually happening is that the bipartisan bill is serving as a brake on what Biden can spend on core infrastructure.

In July, the Senate’s bipartisan package whittled $2.6 billion of Biden’s planned new spending down to $550 billion. Left out completely were major components of Biden’s plan that likely will be taken up in the reconciliation package, including housing, schools, clean energy tax credits, and home and community-based care.

However, because of the “no double-dip” deal Biden and the Senate negotiators made, the following programs face massive cuts that can’t be restored unless the deal is broken:

• Reconnecting minority communities cut off by highway projects, cut 96% from $24 billion to $1 billion
• Replacing the nation’s lead pipes, cut 67% from $45 billion to $15 billion
• Investing in electric school buses, cut 87% from $20 billion to $2.5 billion
• Repairing and modernizing public transit, cut 54% from $85 billion to $39 billion
• Building electric vehicle charging stations, cut 50% from $15 billion to $7.5 billion
• Upgrading and modernizing America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, cut 46% from $56 billion to $30 billion
• Road safety, including “vision zero” programs to protect pedestrians, cut 45% from $20 billion to $11 billion
• Broadband infrastructure, cut 35% from $100 billion to $65 billion
• Investing in passenger and freight rail, cut 18% from $80 billion to $66 billion

This overall cut of nearly half of $441 billion in proposed spending disproportionately targets the urban and rural poor and minority “environmental justice” communities, despite the Biden administration’s stated plans of achieving justice through intentional spending. Biden’s plan was about one-third of what Green New Deal advocates have said is needed for these initiatives.

The Green New Deal Network, a coalition of over 100 organizations, is advocating for the restoration of these funds.

House Transportation Committee chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is intending to challenge the “no double-dip” deal for programs under his jurisdiction, including high-speed rail, connecting neighborhoods, and water systems.

In contrast, the all-white team of 21 U.S. Senators who crafted this deal, led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), approved Biden’s requested spending levels for highways, airports, waterways, and major bailouts for industrial polluters responsible for chemical and fracking cleanups.

The President and The Vice President meet with Governors to discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen wildfire prevention, preparedness and response efforts, and hear firsthand about the ongoing impacts of the 2021 wildfire season, which are growing more severe.

From CNN:

The virtual meeting will last an hour with governors whose states are experiencing wildfires and drought: Govs. Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jay Inslee of Washington, Gavin Newsom of California, Brad Little of Idaho, Kate Brown of Oregon, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.

Biden and Harris will discuss efforts to strengthen wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response efforts, and will hear how an early and severe wildfire season is impacting residents and land in the states. The group is also expected to discuss funding and investing in wildland firefighters, including increasing pay for federal firefighters who are battling blazes, and extending hiring for temporary firefighters.

The White House on Friday will also announce two new interagency working groups pointed at the impact wildfires and extreme heat. Biden’s National Climate Task force, which is chaired by National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, will announce a Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group, and an Extreme Heat Interagency Working Group.

The Wildfire Resilience Interagency Group will be chaired by US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, while the Extreme Heat Interagency Working Group will be chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. There are 82 large fires burning in the West this week. Around 3.4 million acres have been burned in wildfires so far this year.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Juan Vargas, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Rep. Peter Welch, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Yvette Clarke, Rep. Andy Levin and other members of Congress will join Green New Deal Network organizational principals, community leaders, and allies to push for Congress to “Go Bigger to Meet the Need” on climate, jobs, and justice.

“We are concerned that a $3.5 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan will not sufficiently tackle challenges, from extreme weather disasters to access to public transit and dignified care employment. After the Senate budget committee announced its proposal on July 13, eyes have turned to the House, which is developing its own approach, with an opportunity to go bigger to ensure the level of investment meets the need.”

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Where: Union Square, (area 15 of US Capitol), 3rd Street NW b/w Constitution and Independence Avenues, Washington, DC, 89801

Other speakers include

• Natalia Salgado, Working Families Party
• Keya Chatterjee, US Climate Action Network
• Ramon Cruz, Sierra Club
• Andy Kunz, US High Speed Rail Association
• Rahna Epting, MoveOn.org
• Ebony Martin, Greenpeace
• Lauren Manus, Sunrise Movement
• Basav Sen, Climate Justice Alliance
• Tashima Hawkins, American Federation of Teachers
• Ofelia Sanchez, Central Florida Jobs with Justice

The Democratic Party-aligned organizations Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) have begun a $10 million spend on television spots to promote the Biden infrastructure plan with a clean-energy jobs message. This effort is part of a broader $28 million “Great American Build” campaign.

The new ads are airing on national cable and the Washington D.C. market, as well as the local markets of 23 congressional swing districts held by Democrats.

Climate Power is a joint effort of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club, with an advisory board of Democratic and environmentalist luminaries.

Four states:

• Arizona (Kelly and Sinema)
• Georgia (Ossoff and Warnock)
• New Hampshire (Hassan and Shaheen)
• Nevada (Cortez Masto and Rosen)

The congressional districts:

• AZ-01 (O’Halleran)
• GA-06 (McBath)
• GA-07 (Bourdeaux)
• IA-03 (Axne)
• IL-14 (Underwood)
• KS-03 (Davids)
• ME-02 (Golden)
• MI-08 (Slotkin)
• MI-11 (Stevens)
• MN-02 (Craig)
• NH-01 (Pappas)
• NJ-03 (Kim)
• NJ-07 (Malinowski)
• NJ-11 (Sherrill)
• NV-03 (Lee)
• NV-04 (Horsford)
• NY-19 (Delgado)
• OR-04 (DeFazio)
• PA-07 (Wild)
• PA-08 (Cartwright)
• VA-02 (Luria)
• VA-07 (Spanberger)
• WI-03 (Kind)

An example of the district ads: In addition to the television spots, there are digital ads. An example of the digital ads, targeting Georgia:

On June 30th, we are calling on climate activists to join us at the White House to demand President Biden act now to stop dirty fossil fuel projects in all our communities, from Line 3 to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and beyond, and call on Congress to prioritize climate justice, racial justice, Indigenous rights, housing justice and transit justice in the infrastructure discussions.

While fires rage out west and storms threaten the Gulf, President Biden is busy meeting with Republicans and failing us all on climate. If he wants to be a climate champion, time is running out, just as it is running out for our communities. There is no room for compromise when it comes to the very survival of our planet.

Please join us on June 30th to be a part of the movement that changes the trajectory of this administration so that the White House stands up for the rights of our communities instead of doing the bidding of corporate polluters.

Our demands for President Biden are simple and clear:

PROTECT PEOPLE, NOT POLLUTERS.

Use your executive authority to stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare a climate emergency. Fossil fuel pipelines, infrastructure, exports, and leases fuel the climate emergency, pollute in Black & Brown communities, and violate treaty rights. Act now to end the era of fossil fuel production, protect our communities, and Build Back Fossil Free.

PASS A CLIMATE JUSTICE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL.

Use your bully pulpit to make sure Congress includes strong climate, Indigenous rights, housing justice, racial justice, and transit justice commitments in an infrastructure bill. Build on the Thrive Agenda, to build a climate care economy, good jobs for all, an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a renewable energy standard!

Led by Indigenous Environmental Network and ShutDownDC, with many partner organizations.

Over the weekend, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) embraced the Republican filibuster, giving Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) veto power over all future legislation.

Manchin, the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, penned an essay in the Charleston Gazette-Mail unequivocally stating, “I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”

Current Senate rules require 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, which gives Republicans veto power in the 50-50 Senate. In May, McConnell announced that “One-hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration.”

In an interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace on Sunday, Manchin sharply criticized McConnell’s partisan obstruction: “I think he’s 100% wrong in trying to block all the good things that we’re trying to do for America.”

In his essay, Manchin repeatedly invoked the possibility of bipartisanship as his justification for rejecting legislation such as the voting-rights For the People Act (H.R. 1).

However, Manchin also admitted there are only seven Republicans, not ten, that are willing to even potentially break with Mitch McConnell or Donald Trump.

Are the very Republican senators who voted to impeach Trump because of actions that led to an attack on our democracy unwilling to support actions to strengthen our democracy

Manchin’s low threshhold for bipartisanship – opposing Trump’s incitement of insurrection that led to an assault on the Senate chambers – was met by only seven Republicans. The vote required a 2/3 majority to convict Trump, but failed 57-43.

Manchin said to Wallace he’s aware of the numbers: “[W]e have seven brave Republicans that continue to vote for what they know is right and the facts as they see them, not worrying about the political consequences.”

He has not explained how 57 votes is sufficient to break a filibuster, since it’s not.

To wit: at the end of May, McConnell and 34 other Republicans successfully filibustered the legislation to create a bipartisan committee to investigate the attack on our democracy.

President Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will host on April 22 and 23. The virtual Leaders Summit will be live streamed for public viewing.

Day 2 Schedule

8:00 a.m.–Session 4

Unleashing Climate Innovation

This session will highlight the critical role of technological innovation in achieving a net-zero, climate-resilient economy; the importance of accelerating public and private investment in climate innovation; and the enormous economic opportunities in building the industries of the future.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm
• Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo
• Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry

Leaders:

• Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
• President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya
• Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway
• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore
• Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates

Speakers:

• Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
• Anna Borg, President and CEO, Vattenfall
• Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Danielle Merfeld, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, GE Renewable Energy
• Audrey Zibelman, Vice President, X

9:15 a.m.–Session 5

The Economic Opportunities of Climate Action

This session will highlight the broad economic benefits of climate action, with a strong focus on job creation. It will explore the economic benefits of green recovery and long-term decarbonization and the importance of ensuring that all communities and workers benefit from the clean-energy transition.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
• United States Trade Representative Katherine C. Tai
• National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy

Leaders:

• President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria
• President Andrzej Duda, Poland
• Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain
• President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnam

Speakers:

• Jack Allen, CEO, Proterra
• Roxanne Brown, International Vice President at Large, United Steelworkers
• Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union
• Brett Isaac, CEO, Navajo Power
• Erica Mackie, CEO, Grid Alternatives
• Nthabiseng Mosia, Co-Founder and CCO, Easy Solar
• George Oliver, Chairman and CEO, Johnson Controls International; Chair, Business Roundtable Energy and Environment Committee
• Lonnie R. Stephenson, President, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Day 2 Featured Speakers:

• Michael Bloomberg, U.N. Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions
• Bill Gates, Founder, Breakthrough Energy
• Brenda Mallory, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Peggy Shepard, Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice; Co-Chair, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council

President Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will host on April 22 and April 23. The virtual Leaders Summit will be live streamed for public viewing.

The Leaders Summit on Climate will underscore the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action. It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow.

In recent years, scientists have underscored the need to limit planetary warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. A key goal of both the Leaders Summit and COP26 will be to catalyze efforts that keep that 1.5-degree goal within reach. The Summit will also highlight examples of how enhanced climate ambition will create good paying jobs, advance innovative technologies, and help vulnerable countries adapt to climate impacts.

By the time of the Summit, the United States will announce an ambitious 2030 emissions target as its new Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. In his invitation, the President urged leaders to use the Summit as an opportunity to outline how their countries also will contribute to stronger climate ambition.

The Summit will reconvene the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which brings together 17 countries responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions and global GDP. The President also invited the heads of other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy. A small number of business and civil society leaders will also participate in the Summit.

Key themes of the Summit will include:

• Galvanizing efforts by the world’s major economies to reduce emissions during this critical decade to keep a limit to warming of 1.5 degree Celsius within reach. Mobilizing public and private sector finance to drive the net-zero transition and to help vulnerable countries cope with climate impacts.
• The economic benefits of climate action, with a strong emphasis on job creation, and the importance of ensuring all communities and workers benefit from the transition to a new clean energy economy.
• Spurring transformational technologies that can help reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, while also creating enormous new economic opportunities and building the industries of the future.
• Showcasing subnational and non-state actors that are committed to green recovery and an equitable vision for limiting warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, and are working closely with national governments to advance ambition and resilience.
• Discussing opportunities to strengthen capacity to protect lives and livelihoods from the impacts of climate change, address the global security challenges posed by climate change and the impact on readiness, and address the role of nature-based solutions in achieving net zero by 2050 goals.
• Further details on the Summit agenda, additional participants, media access, and public viewing will be provided in the coming weeks.

The President invited the following leaders to participate in the Summit:

• Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda
• President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia
• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh
• Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan
• President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
• President Sebastián Piñera, Chile
• President Xi Jinping, People’s Republic of China
• President Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia
• President Félix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark
• President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission
• President Charles Michel, European Council
• President Emmanuel Macron, France
• President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon
• Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India
• President Joko Widodo, Indonesia
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
• Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy
• Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica
• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan
• President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya
• President David Kabua, Republic of the Marshall Islands
• President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico
• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
• President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria
• Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway
• President Andrzej Duda, Poland
• President Moon Jae-in, Republic of Korea
• President Vladimir Putin, The Russian Federation
• King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore
• President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
• Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain
• President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, Turkey
• President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom
• President Nguyá»…n Phú Trá»?ng, Vietnam

Day 1 Schedule:

8:00 a.m.–Session 1

Raising Our Climate Ambition

President Biden and Vice President Harris will open the inaugural session of the Summit. This session will underscore the urgent need for the world’s major economies to strengthen their climate ambition by the time of COP 26 to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. It will provide an opportunity for leaders to highlight the climate-related challenges their countries face and the efforts they are undertaking, and to announce new steps to strengthen climate ambition.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken
• Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry Leaders:
• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
• Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda
• President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia
• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh
• Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan
• President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
• President Sebastián Piñera, Chile
• President Xi Jinping, People’s Republic of China
• President Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia
• President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission
• President Emmanuel Macron, France
• President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon
• Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India
• President Joko Widodo, Indonesia
• Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy
• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan
• President David Kabua, Republic of the Marshall Islands
• President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico
• President Moon Jae-in, Republic of Korea
• President Vladimir Putin, The Russian Federation
• King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
• President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, Turkey
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom

11:45 a.m.–Session 2

Investing in Climate Solutions

This session will highlight the urgent need to scale up climate finance; efforts to increase public finance for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries; and efforts to shift trillions of dollars of private investment to finance the transition to net zero by 2050.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen
• Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry
• National Economic Council Director Brian Deese

Leaders:

• President Félix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• President Charles Michel, European Council
• Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica
• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand

Speakers:

• Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank
• Oliver Bäte, CEO, Allianz
• Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup
• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
• Marcie Frost, CEO, CalPERS
• David Malpass, Group President, World Bank Group
• Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO, Bank of America; Chair, International Business Council; Co-Chair, Sustainable Markets Initiative

Day 1 Featured Speakers:

• Pope Francis
• Carolina Schmidt, Environment Minister, Chile; President, 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25)
• Alok Sharma MP, United Kingdom; President, 26th United Nations United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26)
• Xiye Bastida, Fridays for Future

12:45 p.m.–Session 3

(Breakout Sessions, Round 1)

Adaptation and Resilience

This session will highlight the climate adaptation and resilience challenges faced by all countries, especially those most vulnerable to climate impacts, and cutting-edge approaches to strengthening resilience in the face of climate change and climate variability.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
• Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas

Speakers:

• Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service, Communications, Fiji
• Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Ireland
• Aziz Rabbah, Minister of Energy, Mines and Environment, Morocco
• Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands
• Malik Amin Aslam, Federal Minister of Climate Change, Pakistan
• João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Portugal
• Abdullah Subai, Minister of Municipality and Environment, Qatar
• Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment, Rwanda
• Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand

Climate Action at All Levels

This session will highlight the critical efforts of subnational and non-state actors (cities, states/regions, and indigenous groups) that are contributing to green recovery and working closely with national governments to advance climate ambition and resilience on the ground.

U.S. Participants:

• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan

Speakers:

• Sinéia B. do Vale, Member, Indigenous Council of Roraima, Brazil
• Mayor LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans
• Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris, France
• Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
• Governor Yuriko Koike, Tokyo, Japan
• Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico
• Fawn Sharp, President, National Congress of American Indians
• Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City, Mexico

2:00 p.m.–Session 3

(Breakout Sessions, Round 2)

Climate Security

This session will highlight the global security challenges posed by climate change, the impact on the military and readiness, and efforts underway to address the threat multipliers to energy, economic, and national security.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III
• Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines
• Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Representative to the United Nations

Speakers:

• Ben Wallace MP, Secretary of State for Defense, United Kingdom
• Kishi Nobuo, Minister of Defense, Japan
• Monica Juma, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Defense, Kenya
• Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General, NATO
• Carlos G. Dominguez III, Secretary of Finance, The Philippines
• Jumaah Enad, Minister of Defense, Iraq
• Margarita Robles Fernández, Minister of Defense, Spain

Nature-based Solutions

This session will highlight the critical role of nature-based solutions in reducing emissions and strengthening climate resilience, including efforts to reduce deforestation and the loss of wetlands, restore marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

U.S. Participants:

• Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland Speakers:
• Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada
• Andrea Meza, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica
• Lee White, Minister of Water, Forests, the Seas, and Environment, Gabon
• Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Indonesia
• Gabriel Quijandría, Minister of the Environment, Peru
• Flavien P. Joubert, Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Seychelles
• Tuntiak Katan, General Coordinator, Global Alliance of Territorial Communities
• Archana Soreng, Member, Youth Advisory Group on Climate to the U.N. Secretary General; Kharia Tribe, Sundergarh, India

The summit continues on April 23.

In March, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass the “American Jobs Plan.” The plan would achieve 100% clean electricity nationwide by 2035. It would invest $100 billion to modernize the grid, $400 billion in incentives for wind and solar and other renewables, $222 billion for electric vehicle research and charging stations, $10 billion in a “Climate Crisis Corps,” and more. It also calls for equity and justice at every step, with investments in underserved communities like removing lead pipes from every single community in America.

Join our webinar to learn more about President Biden’s climate plan! Hear firsthand why the plan is a fantastic first step towards ending the climate crisis. On the webinar, you’ll learn how we can make the plan better and, most importantly, what we need to do to get it passed by Congress THIS YEAR.

Speakers:

• Leah Stokes of Evergreen Action
• Ben Beachy of Sierra Club
• Andres Jimenez of Green 2.0

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Table modified by Hill Heat from the Committee for a Responsible Budget from the White House’s Fact Sheet.