Friend,

In a moment, I'm going to tell you why I'm so excited about the American Jobs Plan, the historic clean energy and infrastructure bill President Biden unveiled last week—and why Congress is going to need to not only take it up but go even bolder.

First, will you sign our petition urging Congress to take up the American Jobs Plan immediately?

The American Jobs Plan is a roadmap for confronting the climate crisis, addressing systemic environmental injustice, and creating millions of good-paying union jobs. Here are three things in it that I'm most excited about:

1. A federal 100% Clean Electricity Standard (CES for short).

This would require electric utility companies to ramp up their use of carbon-free power sources over time, reaching 80% clean by 2030 and 100% clean by 2035. (This is extremely necessary: Governor Jay Inslee proposed this plan on the campaign trail in 2019, and Evergreen published a report earlier this year showing Congress exactly how they can get this done.)

Paired with complementary policies to electrify the building, transportation, and industrial sectors, this could ultimately drive a 70-80% reduction in America's carbon emissions. Put simply, it could be the most consequential climate policy of Biden's presidency.

2. Major investments to get it done.

The American Jobs Plan proposes numerous investments to create jobs building a just and thriving clean energy economy, including new grants and incentives for renewable energy and transmission lines, a new Civilian Climate Corps, and a Clean Energy Accelerator (aka Green Bank).

3. Justice at the center.

The plan also recommits to President Biden's important environmental justice priorities, including targeting no less than 40% of the plan's investment benefits into disadvantaged communities that bear disproportionate impacts of pollution and economic disinvestment.

It's a good plan (and there's a lot more in it). But truthfully, it's just a start, and it's now up to Congress to take up this bill and expand this investment agenda to meet the urgency of this moment.

Sign your name to tell Congress to take up the American Jobs Plan immediately—and to go even bigger and bolder in pursuit of a just and thriving clean energy economy.

Thanks,

Sam Ricketts
Co-Founder, Evergreen Action