WASHINGTON (November 21, 2019)—Today, Rep. Don McEachin (D-Va.) and other cosponsors introduced the 100 Percent Clean Economy Act of 2019. The bill would set a national goal to achieve a 100-percent clean energy economy no later than 2050, direct federal agencies to use their existing authority toward that goal, and create a clean economy federal advisory committee to recommend additional congressional actions.
Below is a statement by Angela Anderson, director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Congressman McEachin and his cosponsors have made a bold commitment to combat climate change on a scale and time frame necessary to adequately address this looming crisis. Communities across the country are already reeling from the impacts of climate change, and we would reap tremendous public health and economic benefits from a just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy.
“Their legislation’s goal of net-zero global carbon emissions by midcentury has the support of the world’s leading scientists as the only way to limit the worst impacts of climate change.
“McEachin and his cosponsors also recognize that any economywide transition to carbon-free energy must benefit communities that have suffered disproportionately from our dependence on fossil fuels and address the challenges facing local economies and dislocated workers. Achieving the bill’s goals will require that communities of color, economically disadvantaged communities, and workers have a direct role in developing more detailed policies.
“Our North Star must ultimately be a 100-percent, pollution-free economy that supports workers, empowers communities, and engages rural America. We look forward to working with Congress to enact a comprehensive suite of policies that will achieve that outcome.”