Written by Kalen Pruss, Policy Director for Show Me Democracy
The climate bill slated to drop next week is far from perfect, but time is running out and we need legislation. We have to pass a climate bill in order for the US to bring anything concrete and meaningful to the international negotiations. Even a bill resulting from compromises will be incredibly difficult to pass in the Senate. Yet if we don’t act to pass clean energy and climate legislation this spring, we will lose our opportunity to do so for several years. As we all know, the world cannot afford to wait: the U.S. Senate must enact a bill that makes real and aggressive steps to address climate this term.
Now is the moment—the last moment, the critical moment—to make sure that our voices are heard. Big Oil and Dirty Coal already have a death grip on Washington. If we fail to stand up and tell our elective representatives that we want a clean energy future, corporate polluters will weaken the energy and climate bill even further.
Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC), and Lieberman (I-CT) plan to release their climate and energy bill next Monday. Oil and coal interests have long been planning their response; as young people and constituents, it is our responsibility to respond to the bill as well. In the coming weeks, it is critical that all of us organize our friends and fellow activists and tell our Senators to strengthen comprehensive climate and energy legislation. When the bill is released next week, we must work together to ensure that it:
- Regulates carbon emissions from manufacturing before 2016
- Addresses global warming with a sound carbon pricing and reduction mechanism
- Preserves the Clean Air Act authority to regulate dangerous pollution
- Maintains state authority to regulate emissions – their innovation helps to craft effective policy across the country
- Strengthens clean energy standards to spur clean energy innovation and jobs here in America
Continue reading ‘Climate Bill to Drop Next Week: Our Generation Must Respond!’
