Workforce Development and Emissions Reduction Explored in House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Hearing

The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing September 10 titled Solving the Climate Crisis: Manufacturing Jobs for America’s Workers. The hearing focused on pathways toward rebuilding the American manufacturing sector though green energy innovation. Expert speakers included Zoe Lipman, Director of the Vehicles and Advanced Transportation Program at BlueGreen Alliance; Tarak Shah, former Department of Energy (DOE) Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary for Science and Energy; Josh Nassar, Legislative Director for the United Auto Workers; and Edward Stones, Global Business Director for Energy and Climate Change at Dow Chemical Company.

In her opening statement, Chair Kathy Castor (D-FL) characterized the “climate crisis” as “an opportunity to lead the world in new technologies and create millions of new jobs.” Committee members and panelists expressed broad concern that the United States is falling behind other countries in both greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and in clean energy, vehicle, and infrastructure manufacturing.

Major topics of discussion included the role of energy efficiency standards for appliances and vehicles in driving private research and development (R&D) investment and keeping the United States on the cutting edge of technological advancement. Mineral mining for renewable energy products and battery storage devices was also a topic of concern; multiple panelists recommended advancing technology recycling programs to recover and reuse rare earth minerals. Some panelists noted that workforce development will be key to maintaining a globally-competitive clean energy market and supply chain, and suggested continued investment in apprenticeships, work-based training and high labor standards.

Specific policy recommendations from panelists included:

• Expand the remit of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technologies Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which provides loans to companies producing fuel-efficient vehicles, to include heavy-duty truck and bus manufacturing.
• Institute cross-border trade adjustments that penalize high-polluting foreign-made products.
• Expand California’s “Buy Clean” steel procurement policy nationally so greenhouse gas emissions and American manufacturing are considered in federal contracts.
• Reinstitute the 48C Advanced Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit.
• Strengthen requirements for and enforcement of U.S. Manufacturing Plans for companies given awards through federal R&D programs.
• Support for H.R. 3978, the Clean Industrial Technology Act of 2019, which would establish a new R&D effort to investigate more decarbonization options for the industrial sector

The September 10 panel kicks off a series of weekly hearings to be held by the committee until the end of 2019. Upcoming hearings will be announced here: https://climatecrisis.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings.

 

Author: Amber Todoroff