Bipartisan Energy Talks Must Not Ignore Climate Change

Ten years have passed since the Senate officially recognized the need to pass legislation to slow, stop and reverse the growth of climate pollution. Eight years have passed since the last major energy bill was enacted. Now Congress is once again pursuing energy legislation without the benefit of a comprehensive national plan to address greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2013, energy was responsible for 84 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions. A responsible energy bill would make it easier for the country to meet its climate goals by including common-sense and broadly supported policies to modernize our electricity grid, improve efficiency, and increase the development and deployment of clean energy – and by ensuring that the overall bill moves the country toward its pollution reduction goals.

Yesterday the House Energy and Power Subcommittee passed the Whitfield-Pallone energy bill and Senators Murkowski and Cantwell released their Energy Policy Modernization Act.

“Bipartisan energy talks in both the Senate and House are a good first step. However, as energy bills move through the legislative process, measures to reduce emissions should be strengthened, and any measures that would increase emissions must be avoided,” said Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDFAction. “If the price of a bipartisan energy bill is ignoring our changing climate, that price is too high.”