Conservationists cheered last week’s release of “the most detailed climate plan in U.S. political history,” a report from the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

This Climate Crisis Action Plan includes measures to grow the nation’s clean energy economy, protect public health, help farmers withstand climate impacts, safeguard American lands and waters, and seek climate justice for communities of color.  

National League of Conservation Voters president Gene Karpinski said of the report, “Speaker Pelosi, Chair Castor, and House Democrats have set forth a comprehensive climate action plan that centers the need to address environmental racism, create high-quality, good-paying jobs, and build a safe, healthy clean energy economy. National climate policy must confront the forces that expose Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to higher levels of toxic pollution head on and this report gives our elected officials a blueprint to do just that. In stark contrast, Trump and Republicans in Congress continue to do polluters’ bidding, deny science, ignore expert advice, dismantle environmental policies that protect communities, and put our health at further risk in the middle of a global pandemic. Pro-environment leadership in the White House and both chambers of Congress has never been more urgent.”  

Select Committee Chair Kathy Castor (D-FL) said, “Our plan will put people back to work and rebuild in a way that benefits all of us. That means environmental justice and our vulnerable communities are at the center of the solutions we propose. The health of our families and the air we breathe are at the heart of our plan. We chart the course to good-paying jobs in solar and wind energy, in manufacturing American-made electric vehicles, and in strengthening communities, so they are more resilient to flooding, extreme heat, intense hurricanes and wildfires.”

This plan is the blueprint for solving our climate crisis, and the Senate needs to join the House in getting on board. As a start, tell Sen. Tillis and Burr to support the Clean Economy Act!