The Inflation Reduction Act includes much needed investment in renewable energy, and a down payment on the union jobs we need to propel a green economy. But it is also a slap in the face to the frontline communities, grassroots groups, and activists that made this legislation possible.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes much needed investment in renewable energy, and a down payment on the union jobs we need to propel a green economy. But it is also a slap in the face to the frontline communities, grassroots groups, and activists that made this legislation possible.
WASHINGTON DC (August 8, 2022)–In response to the Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the proposed permitting bill, Greenpeace USA Co-Executive Director Ebony Twilley Martin said: “The Inflation Reduction Act includes much needed investment in renewable energy, and a down payment on the union jobs we need to propel a green economy. But it is also a slap in the face to the frontline communities, grassroots groups, and activists that made this legislation possible.
“The IRA is packed with giveaways to the fossil fuel executives who are destroying our planet. It sacrifices the same people who have always borne the brunt of oil, gas, and coal infrastructure and climate crisis: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and low-income communities. Folks living on the Gulf and in the Permian Basin. People who look like me have been on Congress’ expendables list for long enough.
“And the fight is not over. The side deal on permitting is simply a disaster. It flies in the face of both science and justice, sacrificing communities of color and driving us even further into a climate crisis. This is what happens when the industry responsible for climate change also calls the shots on climate policy. It is simply ludicrous to sign the most substantive climate deal in history only to immediately commit ourselves to decades more of the extraction that created this crisis. We can’t put out this fire by pouring gasoline on the flames.
“We call on Senator Schumer to do everything in his power to kill the fossil fuel permitting deal. We call on President Biden to declare a climate emergency to move us toward ending the era of fossil fuels. At the end of the day, we can either have fossil fuels, or a habitable planet. We cannot have both. It is time for our leaders to choose.”
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Contact: Tyler Kruse, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, [email protected], 808-741-2791
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
