Happy New Year! We’re back with your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, we’re covering major steps backwards from the administration on the fight to protect our environment and lower energy bills, and state legislation to combat these federal rollbacks.
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“At a time when climate change impacts are accelerating – whether it’s ever-worsening fire seasons, more intense hurricanes, or prolonged droughts – choosing withdrawal over leadership is shortsighted and profoundly irresponsible.”
— Democratic leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) on Trump’s decision to pull out of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“Passing these bills will help ensure that Congress, not President Trump and Russ Vought, decides how taxpayer dollars are spent.”
— Sen. Patty Murray (WA) on the bipartisan three bill minibus [passed] by the House this week.
“Once again, Illinois is stepping up where the federal government is failing.”
— Gov. JB Pritzker (IL) on signing the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into law.
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SIGNS LANDMARK CLIMATE POLICY INTO LAW: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into law, which will accelerate clean energy deployment, strengthen the electrical grid, reduce climate emissions, and slash energy bills by $13.4 billion statewide over the next 20 years. LCV affiliate Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) was instrumental in getting this legislation passed.
IEC TAKE: Illinois Environmental Council CEO Jen Walling said, “Nearly exactly a year ago today, President Trump declared a national energy emergency and pledged to ‘drill, baby, drill.’ Thankfully, Illinois knows that subsidizing expensive fossil fuels is not the answer to our energy affordability crisis, and is stepping up to protect consumers and our climate from the administration’s attacks on clean energy while simultaneously addressing the burgeoning challenges posed by poor regional grid planning and an influx of energy-intensive data centers. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act doubles the renewable energy investment we made in renewable energy in the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act while also investing in new programs like battery storage that meet the urgency of the current moment.”
HOUSE PASSES BILL UNDERMINING ENERGY EFFICIENCY: The House passed H.R. 5184, the Affordable Housing Over Mandating Efficiency Standards (HOMES) Act, that would eliminate manufactured housing energy efficiency standards and drive up people’s bills. LCV sent a letter to members of the House urging them to oppose this bill, as well as the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing (SHOWER) Act.
OUR TAKE: From the letter, “Instead of addressing rising costs affecting American households, these bills eliminate energy and water efficiency standards that decrease utility costs for families.”
TRUMP WITHDRAWS U.S. FROM U.N. FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Trump announced he is withdrawing the U.S. from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 1992 climate treaty with universal participation.
ICYMI: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FORCES ADDITIONAL COAL PLANTS TO REMAIN OPEN: Last month, the Trump administration issued executive orders forcing the continued operation of coal plants in Colorado and Indiana. Forcing coal plants to continue to operate past their planned retirements is detrimental to the environment and increases ratepayers’ bills.
CONSERVATION CO TAKE: In a Facebook post, Conservation Colorado Vice President of Programs Katie Belgard said, “The Trump administration is using false pretenses to keep expensive and outdated coal-fired power plants running based on an ideological preference for coal, no matter the impact on Coloradans. These plants are being closed because they are expensive and unreliable. Forcing them to stay open will mean higher energy bills and dirtier air for Coloradans.”
ICYMI: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HALTS MULTIPLE OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS: The Trump administration has paused construction on five offshore wind projects off the east coast. The projects, which have all already begun construction, are fully permitted and have gone through extensive environmental review.
OUR TAKE: LCV Local Clean Energy Deployment Director Kathleen Meil said, “This order only furthers Trump’s attempt to gut cheap clean energy, that not only lowers costs but also provides high-paying jobs for families. Instead of taking well-vetted clean energy projects offline, the Trump administration should be focused on addressing skyrocketing energy costs, protecting the health and safety of our communities, and lowering costs across the board. What continues to be clear is that Trump cares more about Big Polluters and Big Oil, than hardworking families.”
ELM TAKE: Environmental League of Massachusetts Senior Offshore Wind Director Katie Segal said, “Pausing fully‑permitted offshore wind projects at the finish line doesn’t just strand billions of dollars at sea. It strands American workers, undermines our energy security, increases our energy bills, and sends a chilling message that no infrastructure project in this country is safe from political whim.”
NYLCV TAKE: New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said, “The Trump administration’s ridiculous effort to halt offshore wind projects – this time up and down the east coast – will bring good tidings for his fossil fuel allies (not to mention a sleigh-full of billable hours for lawyers) and nothing but a lump of coal for Americans struggling to pay their electric bills and the thousands of union workers he’s kicking off the job right before the holidays. The New York projects alone would inject more than 1.7 gigawatts of clean, reliable, stable energy – enough to power more than 1.1 million homes. Stopping these projects now – when energy demand is rising and the president himself is claiming there is an energy emergency – makes no sense. The national security objections brought by the administration are absurd and we know that this attempt, like all those before it, will fail. We thank Governor Hochul for standing up to this, and call on the entire New York congressional delegation to fight this order and get these projects back online and the workers back on the job as soon as possible.”
NEW JERSEY COURT UPHOLDS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE LAW: A New Jersey court upheld a 2020 environmental justice law that bars construction of polluting facilities in communities that already experience high concentrations of pollutants, including low income communities and communities of color. Industrial groups had challenged the law, claiming it was too vague and broad.
NEW JERSEY LCV TAKE: New Jersey LCV posted on Bluesky, “#GreatNews! A NJ court affirmed the legality of regulations to implement New Jersey’s nation-leading Environmental Justice Law – economic benefits cannot be used to allow new sources of pollution in overburdened communities.”
HOUSE PASSES APPROPRIATIONS MINIBUS: This week, congressional appropriators released a final three bill minibus including the Interior-Environment, Energy-Water and Commerce-Justice-Science bills. The minibus passed the House on Thursday and will now go to the Senate. These bills avoided the worst of the cuts to environmental programs and poison-pill riders Republican lawmakers sought to attach.
OUR TAKE: LCV Legislative Director David Shadburn said, “This hard-fought compromise is a crucial step forward in blocking dozens of the worst partisan attacks. Congress must rein in Donald Trump and Russell Vought’s continued abuse of power and ensure that agencies are doing the work of the people as mandated by Congress. Quickly passing bipartisan funding bills is our strongest defense against the attacks on our core institutions of environmental protection. We are grateful to the members of Congress and their staff for working overtime to negotiate truly bipartisan funding bills that will help protect our air, water, and public lands.”
REP. STENY HOYER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: Climate champion Representative Steny Hoyer (MD-05) announced he will retire at the end of the year.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo said, “As the longest serving Democrat in Congress and a key leader in the Democratic House Caucus, Representative Steny Hoyer was instrumental in passing Democrats’ marquee legislation, including the Affordable Care Act and the largest climate bill in U.S. history: the Inflation Reduction Act. Hoyer represents the best of what it means to be a public servant. He has served his constituents with integrity and care while being a reliable advocate for the environment, a consistent champion for clean air and clean water, and a relentless defender of the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding communities. We are grateful for his decades of tireless leadership and wish him the best in his retirement.”
ON THE BLOG: Feeling helpless and frustrated by what’s going on in government? Make your voice heard by submitting a public comment today! Learn how in the newest article on The Power Source Blog.
ON OUR SOCIALS: We’re holding the Trump administration accountable for driving up our energy costs by banning clean energy, his terrible decision to pull the U.S. out of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, and trying to rewrite the narrative surrounding the violent insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
JANUARY 12: 25th anniversary of the Roadless Rule.
JANUARY 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
JANUARY 20: 1 year anniversary of Trump’s second term.
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