John,
I’m working with urgency, every day, to confront the climate crisis. With so much at stake, and with the deadly impacts of climate change becoming more obvious and undeniable, this should be one of Congress’ very top priorities. It should also be bipartisan.
I’m sorry to say that my Republican colleagues are not just oblivious to this crisis, they want to make it worse. Their #1 policy priority in this Congress is to dramatically increase the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. And, John, the United States is already the world’s largest producer and exporter of fossil fuels, which we’re producing and exporting at record levels right now.
We must stop this runaway train and accelerate the transition to clean energy if we’re going to preserve a livable planet for our children and future generations. That’s why I’m putting so much work into ending fossil fuel business as usual, and defeating MAGA GOP schemes to make our fossil fuel addiction worse.
This month, my colleagues and I are prioritizing two specific initiatives:
- Combating plastic pollution: as clean energy and electric cars become more popular, the fossil fuel industry has a backup plan to keep making money: push a lot more plastics (made from fossil fuels) on the world. Plastic pollution is not just an environmental and climate disaster, it’s a huge environmental justice problem. The pollution from petrochemical plants causes terrible health impacts – and these facilities are overwhelmingly located in low-income, rural, Indigenous communities and communities of color. Along with several allies in Congress, I’m calling for international action to combat plastic pollution and alleviate this global crisis. And I’m spearheading the most comprehensive anti-plastics legislation ever introduced, the Break Free From Plastics Act, to confront the fossil fuel industry head-on.
- Protecting public interest in natural gas exports: over the past few decades, in both Democratic and Republican administrations, we’ve created a climate monster by pretending that natural gas – because it is cleaner than coal when it is burned – is a climate solution. For too long, we’ve ignored or downplayed the methane losses associated with this industry. Now that new studies are finally quantifying the life-cycle methane losses – from well heads, to pipelines, to liquefaction facilities, to the transporting of liquified natural gas (LNG), the results are alarming: LNG actually has a greater greenhouse gas impact than coal. Yet the US is rushing to build more natural gas infrastructure so that we can transport and export even more natural gas, especially LNG. I’m leading a congressional letter that tells the Department of Energy to slow down and think this through. My colleagues and I are urging DOE to update its process of approving new licenses for LNG exports and to ensure that the full scope of impacts on the climate, environmental justice, and domestic energy prices are considered before approving any new infrastructure.
That’s just two examples of how I’m trying to tackle the climate crisis and make a difference. There’s a lot more that we’re working on, and a lot more work ahead. Protecting our environment and taking bold action on climate change have always been my top priorities in Congress, and I will continue to lead these fights.
One of these days, I hope Republicans will disentangle themselves from the fossil fuel industry and join in these critical efforts. It would be much better if climate action could be bipartisan. But the truth is, John: we don’t have time to wait for Republicans to see the light. The climate crisis is worsening and this isn’t like other political issues where you can accept modest incremental progress over the course of many years; this is about our narrowing window of opportunity to save the planet for both Democrats and Republicans. It’s about hard realities and hard science. We don’t have the luxury of waiting for GOP politics to evolve.
This fight requires constant rededication and an unwavering focus on what’s at stake. I’m grateful to have your support in this movement, John.
– Jared
