“We commend President Biden’s use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to begin the clean energy transition, and we need him to go even further. We must do everything we can to bolster a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels.
“Biden’s willingness to invoke the DPA to advance the clean energy transition is a good sign, but does not do enough to solve the immediate energy crisis from Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, or the larger climate emergency. It does not ensure communities targeted for decades by the hardrock mining industry will be protected from the impacts of the country’s move toward renewable energy. The Administration still has an opportunity to advance all its goals across the board.
“An expanded version of the DPA Executive Order would be better suited to achieve the Administration’s goals, and we urge the President to incorporate the demands laid out in a letter earlier this month by over 200 groups, including: the manufacture and deployment of additional renewable energy technologies, weatherization technology, and heat pumps for immediate domestic use and for export abroad to lessen reliance on not only Russian oil, but all oil. The Biden administration has already named heat pumps as a tool to reduce reliance on Russian gas through the Joint EU Task Force, and the Defense Production Act should be put to use for their manufacture both domestically and to be sent abroad.
“The Administration should meet our energy and mineral needs through 100% battery recycling, circular economy, and improved technology that allows batteries to last longer and use less of the most controversial minerals like cobalt, a call our allies support. That’s what using every tool looks like.
“Wars have been fought, fueled, and funded by oil and fossil fuels for a long time, and President Biden can show true climate leadership by reaching into his toolbox to build something new. We urge the President to go beyond today’s announcement and invoke the Defense Production Act across clean energy sectors, declare a climate emergency, and begin an equitable transition towards a fossil fuel phaseout.”
ENDS
Contact: Valentina Stackl, Greenpeace USA. [email protected] (734) 276 6260
