Gillibrand 2020
July 25, 2019

GILLIBRAND RELEASES "CLIMATE CHANGE MOONSHOT PLAN" - MAKES POLLUTERS PAY

Gillibrand’s plan creates a sustainable green economy, puts price on carbon

Reinvests in communities that have been historically left behind 

Today, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released a bold and comprehensive plan to tackle climate change in order to protect our communities, enact transformative change in the economy, seize the opportunity of new technology, and lead the world in green innovation. 

Full details of the plan are HERE

“We must aggressively combat climate change not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Our race for a green economy will be a measure of our excellence, innovation, and entrepreneurialism as a nation, and I know we’re up for the challenge,” said Senator Gillibrand

“We have seen catastrophic flooding across the Midwest, damaging wildfires in California, and hurricanes ravage communities in the South and Puerto Rico. Many people have lost their homes and loved ones because we’ve failed to act on climate change. My plan lays out immediate and bold action to protect our communities and save our planet,” Senator Gillibrand continued. “Not only would I enact the Green New Deal and protect clean air and clean water, but I will reinvest in the communities that have been most impacted by climate change and hold polluters accountable for the damage they’ve caused the American people.” 

Senator Gillibrand’s plan would undo the harmful environmental policies President Trump’s E.P.A has adapted and look to the future by establishing a green jobs economy, investing in rural and marginalized communities that have historically been left behind, and ensuring that people who face barriers to employment, such as formerly incarcerated and long-term unemployed Americans, find strong green jobs.


Get to net-zero carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and phase out fossil fuels: 
  • Goal of net-zero carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions—nationwide and across the economy— no later than 2050
    • We must achieve net-zero emissions in the next decade, and put in place clear, enforceable standards, in order to transition off of fossil fuels and onto clean energy.
  • Strive to get us to 100% clean, renewable, and zero-carbon electricity in a decade. 
    • Prioritize transforming our electric grid into a system that’s designed to better handle renewable and distributed energy.
  • Ensure as many new vehicles as possible are zero-emission by enacting new standards for newly manufactured cars and other vehicles. 
    • Invest in building out electric vehicle-charging systems and high-speed rail, public transit, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. 
  • Issue an executive order to end all new fossil fuel leases on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf. 
    • End all fracking on public lands and support restrictions on all fracking in other environmentally sensitive locations and near homes, schools and agricultural areas. 
    • Direct the EPA to set stronger health and safety regulations and close the “Halliburton loophole” that exempts fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act. 
  • Set up a federal “buy clean” standard to only work with companies that provide local, good-paying jobs and don’t hurt our environment. 
    • Require a climate analysis for all new energy infrastructure projects undertaken by the government so that we’re consistent with our net-zero carbon emissions goal.
  • Direct federal agencies to establish resiliency standards and require that all federally funded infrastructure projects are designed to withstand the impacts of climate change, sea-level rise, and extreme weather. 
    • Require any major new construction projects to meet efficiency standards—and when we go to update buildings of the past, those retrofits should be energy-efficient, too.
Put a price on carbon and hold polluters accountable: 
  • Put a meaningful price on carbon—starting at $52 per metric ton—  to steer companies away from fossil fuels and toward investment in clean and renewable energy. 
    • The revenue generated from this carbon tax would then go directly back into our country’s transition to renewable energy—putting us in a strong position to lead the world as we head into a green future.
  • Create a Climate Change Mitigation Trust Fund funded by an excise tax on fossil fuel production. 
  • Work with Congress to end federal subsidies, including tax subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. 
    • Implement new tax credits to speed up the deployment of clean and renewable energy and energy storage technologies.
Build a green jobs economy: 
  • Establish a “New Frontiers in Clean Energy” to ensure the clean technologies of this new industrial age are manufactured by American workers. 
  • Establish a Green Jobs Recovery Fund to harness the talent of displaced workers to build a clean energy economy, and give them priority consideration for any new green jobs created. 
    • Prioritize green investment and research in the areas of the country hit hardest by the decline of the industry—including regions facing persistent poverty, rural areas in population decline, and frontline communities.
  • Couple any federal investment in clean energy job creation with strong job standards like prevailing wage and union neutrality protections, as well as project labor and community benefit agreements. 
    • Protect the health care and retirement funds of retired miners and strengthen the black lung disability fund. 
    • Provide wage and benefit replacement for displaced workers and make it easier for them to find paths to retirement.
  • Target hiring preferences to ensure that underrepresented populations and people who face barriers to employment, such as formerly incarcerated and long-term unemployed Americans, find strong green jobs.
    • Create a Conserve America Corps that builds on the legacy of the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps. 
      • Young people will have the opportunity to serve the nation in protecting and preserving our land, forests, water, and other critical natural resources, and be rewarded for those efforts with newly acquired skills and a pathway to the middle class with assistance to pay for college or for a down payment on a new home or to start a business.
Center rural advancement, frontline communities, and marginalized voices: 
  • Establish the “Made in Rural America” initiative to make bio-based manufacturing central to our commitment to rebuild America’s industrial strength. 
    • Invest in research into bio-based manufacturing, bio-based manufacturing facilities, and in the infrastructure necessary to support growth in the industry.
  • Create a Rural Resiliency Fund to help rural communities make their infrastructure more resilient to the effects of climate change, invest in disaster preparedness, and recover from natural disasters.
    • Invest $100 billion in building a more resilient, efficient, secure energy grid that is essential to clean energy distribution. 
    • Make a major investment to build a smart grid across rural America while also expanding high-speed internet access to provide universal broadband access to the fiber connections this new grid requires. 
  • Prioritize climate investments in communities that have been historically left behind: low-income communities, communities of color, and those at the front lines of climate change and pollution. 
    • This means taking action to eliminate the sources of pollution in these communities and prioritize funding for efforts to clean up legacy contamination. 
    • Ensure that frontline communities have a seat at the table in developing and implementing our climate policies to ensure that they are fair and equitable.  
  • Ensure that the rights of indigenous communities are respected and upheld. 
    • Direct federal agencies not to approve new energy infrastructure projects that traverse Tribal lands without first seeking and obtaining the informed consent of the affected Tribal governments.
Lead a 21st-century clean energy international “space race”: 
  • Restore our global leadership on climate change and rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on day one. 
  • Commit to a 21st century clean energy “space race.” 
    • Decarbonize our economies through innovation and investment at a scale that rises to meet the global challenge we face.
  • Ensure that we meet our commitments to the Green Climate Fundand other international institutions that fund climate mitigation efforts overseas.
  • Guarantee that trade agreements negotiated include strong climate and environmental provisions, and that the U.S. is leading the world in exporting clean technologies and renewable energy products.
Protect clean air, clean water, and public lands: 
  • Restore and strengthen Clean Air Act regulations and reverse the Trump administration’s attacks on the Clean Water Act. 
  • Support full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and our nation’s national park maintenance backlog, ensuring families everywhere have access to our nation’s greatest treasures.
  • Protect the integrity of the Antiquities Act by preserving our existing national monuments and protecting additional lands and waters of national significance.
  • Protect our public lands from exploitation by banning any new fossil fuel production on public lands and phasing out existing leases.