PHOENIX — The turmoil in Europe is a reminder of how much the U.S. relies on imported fossil fuels and it is reviving calls for the U.S. Senate to pass green energy legislation that stalled in January.
The climate portion of the Build Back Better plan was passed by the House Democrats last year, but a companion bill was not finalized in the Senate and stalled in January.
The plan would allocate $550 billion over 10 years on tax credits for solar panels and electric vehicles, as well as provide incentives to build solar batteries and other green technology.
“We have to permanently wean ourselves off of corrupt foreign oil and gas by investing in a clean energy revolution,” said Senator Ed Markey (D) of Massachusetts during a Senate hearing earlier this week.
Markey tweeted his support to revive the climate component of the Build Back Better plan, and environmental activists across the country are joining in the appeal to lawmakers.
Phoenix protesters ask Sinema, Kelly for action
Last Friday, protesters in Phoenix led by the nonprofit Moms Clean Air Force urged lawmakers to pass the climate bill in the U.S. Senate.
“We call on our leaders to come together. Act swiftly for the sake of children and all life,” said Hazel Chandler of Moms Clean Air Force.
Protesters personally delivered a letter signed by 30 nonprofits and faith groups to the Phoenix offices of Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Senator Mark Kelly.
The letter, addressed to Arizona’s entire congressional delegation, asks lawmakers to remove the political barriers in the Senate preventing passage of the plan.
“We’re calling on Senator Sinema and Senator Kelly to move forward. The House has passed a historic bill for climate justice and renewable energy and it’s time for the Senate to move forward,” said Reverend Doug Bland of Arizona Interfaith Power and Light.
Kelly and Sinema do not address requests of protesters
Senator Kelly and Senator Sinema declined interview requests from 12 News to discuss the issue.
In response to written questions from 12 News, representatives of both senators did not directly answer the question of whether they currently support the $550 billion climate legislation.
Kelly has previously championed efforts regarding renewable energy and personally negotiated bills related to water conservation, drought resilience, and energy in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in December, said Arielle Devorah, Press Secretary for Senator Kelly, in a written statement.
“He has already delivered in the Senate, securing infrastructure upgrades to our power grid and to make our state more resilient to drought,” Devorah said in the statement. “And he will continue working to strengthen American energy independence including by boosting renewable energy production that will create great-paying jobs.”
A spokesperson for Senator Sinema referred to comments last year by Sinema reflecting her general support for the Build Back Better framework.
Spokesperson Pablo Sierra-Carmona also referenced a quote Sinema gave to The Arizona Republic in September of last year in which she said she was “looking forward” to passing “smart policies” to address the impacts of climate change.
Sinema also helped broker the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. She signaled “general support” for the BBB framework announced by the White House last year, including the climate provisions in that framework, Sierra-Carmona said.
When asked more specifically about their current position on the $550 billion climate legislation passed by the House, both media liaisons of the senators did not respond.
“This is the tipping point for this planet”
The push for green energy investments comes as the U.N. released its latest report detailing the dire impacts of climate change if action is not taken to reverse global warming.
It shows even an increase of a few tenths of a degree celsius of annual temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions could produce four times the fires, droughts, and extreme weather events we are already experiencing.
“This is our time. This is our opportunity. This is the tipping point for this planet,” said Will Humble, Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association.
Hazel Chandler of Moms Clean Air Force said she just became a great-grandmother and she worries about what lies ahead for her posterity.
“My great-granddaughter Ava was born in August when the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) issued a report warning of a code red for humanity,” Chandler said.
“We have already warmed 1.1 degrees and we’re heading to pass 1.5 degrees before Ava gets out of grade school. I just cringe at the thought of what her future and the future of all of our children looks like.”
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