SEEC In The News

As Rep. Chellie Pingree and other leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition said in a letter Monday, this is a rare opportunity to remake America’s economy in a more energy-efficient way. The group listed numerous bills and administrative actions that should be taken as the country responds to, and ultimately emerges from, the coronavirus pandemic. These include dedicated support for the clean energy sector — and its more than 3 million employees — in any future relief packages that are passed by Congress. They also suggest changes to tax incentives, loan programs and federal funding for renewable energy, water treatment, transportation infrastructure, land conservation and others. They also highlight how federal investments, clean energy and environmental protection are intertwined with concerns about racial and economic inequality and justice. There is an urgency to this work. World leaders have a short time — perhaps only six months — to capitalize on the carbon dioxide emission reductions that have accompanied the pandemic, an international energy expert told the Guardian newspaper.

House Democrats are ratcheting up pressure to insert financial help for clean energy into upcoming bills, setting up a clash with GOP lawmakers who’ve so far derided attempts to aid renewables as a bid to implement the Green New Deal. Evergreen Action, a collection of former staffers on Gov. Inslee's presidential campaign, has released its own plan outlining ways for Democrats to boost clean energy as part of recovery. They’ve briefed House and Senate Democratic leadership on their proposals and did the same with the House Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition on Friday.

The impact of the crisis on wind, solar and other clean-energy firms is already showing up in jobs numbers. About 106,000 clean-energy workers have already filed for unemployment in March alone, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Environmental Entrepreneurs, an advocacy group. Already, Democrats are signaling they will make a push again in the next round of stimulus spending. “Relief and recovery legislation will shape our society for years to come,” said Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), vice chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a caucus that supports renewable energy resources. “We must use these bills to build in a climate-smart way.”

Though certain industries may benefit from the rollbacks, the costs will accrue to public health. As explained by U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the rollback of emissions standards “will lead to dirtier air at a time when our country is working around the clock to respond to a respiratory pandemic whose effects may be exacerbated by air pollution.” Likewise, members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition strongly opposed the decision to suspend environmental enforcement because it will “only add to the severity of the COVID-19 crisis” and likely lead to “adding patients to health care providers' already overwhelming caseloads.”