Congress Must Act on the Climate Crisis

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) welcomes today's release of a staff report by the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The Committee, formed in January 2019 at the start of the 116th Congress, was charged with making ambitious climate policy recommendations to Congress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and more frequent and destructive extreme weather.

"The staff report released by the Select Committee offers an achievable set of recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare communities for climate impacts on an immediate basis," said EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette. "Congress must consider these recommendations, based on submissions from hundreds of organizations, including EESI, and act. There is no debate: the climate crisis is upon us now—the sooner we act the less disruption it will cause and the less it will cost us. And there should be no debate: before us is an opportunity to make clean energy more affordable, accessible, and equitable than ever before; create new jobs for millions of Americans; and improve the resilience of our communities, including those in rural areas and on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We should seize this opportunity to advance climate change solutions."

EESI submitted an extensive set of policy recommendations to the Select Committee on November 22, 2019. At the time, Bresette noted that, "The Select Committee’s work is establishing a critical foundation of information and ideas that will inform climate policy development for years to come. […] We take this opportunity to provide our comments and suggestions very seriously."

In addition to scores of sector-specific environmental, climate, and clean energy policy suggestions, EESI offered three high-level principles for the Select Committee to consider:

1. The urgency of climate change demands near-term actions as longer-term policies are developed and implemented.
2. Reducing the risks of the worst climate change outcomes, and adapting to their increased frequency, magnitude, and severity, will require a cohesive, coordinated set of policies that are complex and interconnected.
3. Congress should recognize and support efforts by states and local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement measures for climate change adaptation.

• EESI recommendations to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
• "EESI Submits Recommendations to House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis," November 22 press release.