The Washington Post has reported that President-elect Joe Biden will choose former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to lead the White House’s domestic climate policy efforts. McCarthy will be the counterpart to globally-focused Special Envoy John Kerry, whose selection was announced last month.
In response to Gina McCarthy’s appointment as White House lead on domestic climate policy, Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner Lisa Ramsden said:
“Voters gave Joe Biden a clear mandate to boldly pursue solutions to racial injustice and the climate crisis. In this new role, Gina McCarthy will play a huge part in ensuring that the Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class communities that have borne the brunt of fossil-fueled pollution are finally afforded the means to thrive.
“As a seasoned environmental advocate, we have high expectations for McCarthy in the White House. Passing a Green New Deal-style economic recovery plan would create millions of new jobs with union benefits. Phasing out fossil fuels and initiating a just transition to renewable energy will allow us to avert even deeper climate chaos and expand economic opportunity in the process. The solutions are laid out in front of Biden and McCarthy — now we need them to take the reins and lead.”
As outlined in the THRIVE Agenda — a resolution supported by more than 100 members of Congress as well as leading progressive organizations, grassroots groups, and labor unions — the Biden administration has a momentous opportunity to integrate climate solutions with economic recovery. Such an approach would create nearly 16 million new jobs and sustain them over the next critical decade. That would mean millions more people with access to union benefits and healthcare, working in jobs that restore our climate rather than pollute it.
ENDS
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, [email protected]
