On Tuesday, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis unveiled a comprehensive congressional climate action framework, highlighting legislation introduced by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) as important tools in the effort to solve the climate crisis.
Rep. Espaillat’s Green Climate Fund Authorization Act of 2019 commits the United States to provide climate financing to keep the planet under 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming and promotes environmental justice and human rights.
Additionally, Espaillat’s Transportation Alternatives Enhancements Act would make several improvements to the Transportation Alternatives (TA) program, which funds a variety of small-scale community transportation projects other than traditional highway construction, such as improving pedestrian safety and access to transit, constructing bicycle facilities and infrastructure, environmental mitigation, and more.
The Select Committee’s climate action framework outlines ambitious and achievable policies to:
- Grow our economy and put Americans back to work in clean energy jobs
- Protect the health of all families
- Make sure our communities and farmers can withstand the impacts of climate change
- Protect America’s land and water for the next generation
“Climate change is an existential threat and communities around the nation and the globe will continue to feel the impact of the climate crisis if solutions are not implemented immediately,” said Rep. Espaillat (NY-13). “We have a moral obligation and responsibility to ensure that we take serious, progressive actions to address climate change. And, it remains critical that we demonstrate through our actions that the U.S. remains a leader in the fight against climate change and in support of environmental justice. I commend the Select Committee on today’s announcement and look forward to working with my colleagues to help implement effective change that will benefit our society today as well as in the future.”
The Select Committee’s plan would put the country on a path to net-zero carbon pollution by 2050, if not earlier. It would power economic recovery through clean energy investment and family-sustaining jobs and address the legacy of environmental injustice harming America’s low-income communities and communities of color.
“House Democrats recognize that we have the moral imperative to meet this moment with a bold climate action plan to reduce carbon pollution, create much-needed jobs to rebuild our economy, and tackle the systemic injustice of environmental racism head-on,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
The full Select Committee report is viewable here.
Background:
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis was created at the outset of the 116th Congress to deliver policy recommendations to other House committees on how to solve the climate crisis.
First elected to Congress in 2016, Rep. Adriano Espaillat is serving his second term in Congress where he serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Small Business Committee. He serves as a Senior Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he also serves in a leadership role as CHC Whip. He is also chairman of the CHC Task Force for Transportation, Infrastructure and Housing. Rep. Espaillat’s Congressional District includes Harlem, East Harlem, northern Manhattan and the north-west Bronx. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
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