Celebrating Bipartisan Leadership on Climate
As the President Calls for Investment in Infrastructure, Republican Lawmakers Engaged on Climate Have Never Been More Important.
By Sarah Velasquez from ConservAmerica, Jessica Moerman from the Evangelical Environmental Network, Chelsea Henderson from republicEn, Joseph Majkut from the Niskanen Center, Danielle Butcher from The Conservation Coalition, and George Gemelas from Students for Carbon Dividends (S4CD)
S4CD was proud to be one of six climate organizations this past week that united to salute recent bipartisan leadership on climate change, including around the Energy Act of 2020.
One of the most significant pieces of climate legislation every enacted , the Energy Act of 2020 also passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. As the Washington Examiner summarized, it is “the most expansive package of provisions ever implemented to deal with climate change….Supporters, including many environmental, labor, and business groups, say the package is a remarkable feat in a divided Congress.” As the Washington Post said, it is “one of the biggest victories for U.S. climate action in a decade.”
To celebrate this and other examples of climate leadership, especially on the Republican side, S4CD’s EVP George Gemelas co-authored an op-ed this week in Real Clear Energy. It ran under the headline: “As the President Calls for Investment in Infrastructure, Republican Lawmakers Engaged on Climate Have Never Been More Important.”
The op-ed’s co-authors include Sarah Velasquez from ConservAmerica, Jessica Moerman from the Evangelical Environmental Network, Chelsea Henderson from republicEn, Joseph Majkut from the Niskanen Center, Danielle Butcher from The Conservation Coalition, and George Gemelas from S4CD.
As they write:
Biden needs to give Republicans a seat at the table, though, to make it a win-win for all of America, both red and blue. And Republicans, for their part, must seize the opportunity to demonstrate leadership on policy to address climate change that is already affecting American businesses and communities large and small.
Thankfully, there is a recent example of a successful legislative roadmap. At the end of last year, the Energy Act of 2020 was passed by a Democrat-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate, demonstrating that cooperation is possible – and constructive.
Read the full piece here.