Legislation
introduced today by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) calls on the
President of the United States to declare a national climate emergency
and begin taking action in line with the goals of the Green New Deal
resolution
introduced in 2019.
The National Climate Emergency
Act
mandates a presidential declaration of a national
emergency
under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, and directs the president to
mobilize the nation for climate and economic justice, rebuilding the
national labor movement to protect the habitability of our planet.
To ensure accountability to Congress and the American people, the
National Climate Emergency Act requires that the president deliver a
report within one year of the bill’s enactment (and then every year
thereafter until the emergency sunsets) that details the specific
actions taken by the executive branch to combat the climate emergency
and restore the climate for future generations.
As detailed in the legislation, this should include, but is not
limited to, investments in large scale mitigation and resiliency
projects, upgrades to public infrastructure, modernization of millions
of buildings to cut pollution, investments in public health,
protections for public lands, regenerative agriculture investments
that support local and regional food systems, and more.
“It might be a good idea for President Biden to call a climate
emergency,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow last week. “Trump used
this emergency for a stupid wall, which wasn’t an emergency. But if
there ever was an emergency, climate is one.”
The legislation introduced today is supported by dozens of climate
justice organizations including 350.org, Center for Biological
Diversity, The Climate Mobilization, Food & Water Watch, Labor Network
for Sustainability, Progressive Democrats of America, Public Citizen,
Sunrise Movement, Justice Democrats, Greenpeace, New York Lawyers for
the Public Interest, Align NY, Friends of Earth, and Climate Justice
Alliance.
“We are at a life changing, civilization altering moment in our history,
as we face a climate crisis that demands a thunderous voice and a full
mobilization of every sector to match its scale and its urgency – all
while serving as a great opportunity to build a more just and prosperous
country,” said Varshini Prakash, Executive Director of the Sunrise
Movement. “This bill is a good sign that our leaders are finally
understanding what young people and climate activists have been shouting
from the rooftops for years – that the fires that burned our homes to
rubble, the floods that took our family and friends with them, are a
climate emergency, and bold action must be done now to save our humanity
and our future.”
“We’re already in a five-alarm emergency for communities on the
frontlines of fossil fuel pollution and the climate crisis,” said John
Noël, senior climate campaigner of Greenpeace
USA. “Our government has squandered precious
time in the fight for a liveable planet, and now we need legislation
like the Climate Emergency Act to kick things into gear. Congress must
mobilize in full force to declare a climate emergency then immediately
act to end fossil fuel subsidies and reinstate the crude oil export ban.
We have the unprecedented opportunity this year to advance climate,
racial, and economic justice, and to create millions of union jobs in
the process. This historic legislation is just step one.”
“Obstruction, corporate greed, and denial has left us with just 10 years
to rapidly transition off fossil fuels and toward a 100% clean and
renewable energy economy,” said Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director,
Justice Democrats. “There’s no time to waste in declaring this a
national emergency and taking swift action to create millions of
good-paying union jobs in the process.”
Full text of the legislation:
Join
Congressional leaders for a bicameral rally calling for major climate
investments in the Build
Back Better Act!