If D.C. can go green, America can do it
Washington, D.C., became the only jurisdiction in North America that has enacted a concrete, mandatory, detailed, comprehensive law to reduce emissions at a pace compatible with keeping global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Clean Energy Act requires that 100 percent of the city’s electricity come from clean energy by 2032. It provides incentives for electric vehicles and creates sound energy efficiency standards for buildings. It also puts a small price on fossil fuel use for electricity and home-heating oil. This carbon revenue will fund clean energy loans, social programs for low-income residents and job training programs for D.C. residents.
This climate victory in the nation’s capital was made possible by the efforts of grassroots organizers and engaged constituents. I applaud their three-year efforts.
Going green and putting a price on pollution are ideas whose time has come. The momentum in public opinion for climate concern is growing rapidly. Even the U.S. Congress was debating the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR 7173 and companion bill in the Senate).
Please join me in contacting Sen. Cory Gardner, Sen. Michael Bennet, and Rep. Scott Tipton. Encourage them to learn more about this important bipartisan legislation and support it when it is reintroduced in the new Congress.
Philip Riffe
Hesperus
