Senate Democrats’ Climate Committee Releases New Report on Climate Action, Plan To Build Clean Economy For American People
On Tuesday, August 25, US Senate Democrats unveiled a report proposing a broad approach to fighting climate change. The Committee’s report calls on Congress to: reduce U.S. emissions rapidly to achieve 100 percent global net-zero emissions no later than 2050; stimulate economic growth by increasing federal spending on climate action to at least 2 percent of GDP annually — and ensure that at least 40 percent of the benefits from these investments help communities of color and low-income, de-industrialized, and disadvantaged communities; and create at least 10 million new jobs. The document emerged from a year of hearings and private meetings with Democratic allies and is a menu of potential policies that have wide support in the party and that could be combined in future legislation. Read a plan overview in the Atlantic here.
ESMC publicly supported the report’s release with the following statement from ESMC’s Executive Director, Debbie Reed: “ESMC and our corporate partners, agricultural organizations, and members across the agricultural supply chain and value chain laud the Senate Democrats Special Committee on the Climate Crisis for recognizing the impact of climate change on agriculture, a business conducted largely outdoors. We also greatly appreciate the Committee engaging in consultations and dialog to arrive at approaches in which the voices of farmers and ranchers and the food and beverage sector can be elevated. Private, voluntary carbon and ecosystem services markets that pay farmers and ranchers to sequester carbon, reduce other GHG emissions, and improve water quality and water use – which all go hand-in-hand – will help recognize and compensate producers for benefits consumers and society need and are demanding. These actions also improve agricultural resilience to dangerous climate impacts – so it is a win-win.”
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