Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy Environment
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SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS: BUILDING A VIBRANT AND JUST CLEAN ENERGY ENVIRONMENT HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION HEARING HELD JULY 28, 2020 Serial No. 116–18 ( www.govinfo Printed for the use of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 41–340 WASHINGTON : 2020 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 041340 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\CLIMATE_CRISIS\41340\41340A.XXX 41340A ralbany on LAP520R082PROD with HEARINGS SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS KATHY CASTOR, Florida, Chair BEN RAY LUJA´ N, New Mexico GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana, SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon Ranking Member JULIA BROWNLEY, California MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia JARED HUFFMAN, California GARY PALMER, Alabama A. DONALD MCEACHIN, Virginia BUDDY CARTER, Georgia MIKE LEVIN, California CAROL MILLER, West Virginia SEAN CASTEN, Illinois KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota JOE NEGUSE, Colorado ANA UNRUH COHEN, Majority Staff Director MARTY HALL, Minority Staff Director climatecrisis.house.gov (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 041340 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\CLIMATE_CRISIS\41340\41340A.XXX 41340A ralbany on LAP520R082PROD with HEARINGS C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Page Hon. Kathy Castor, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida, and Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 4 Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of Lou- isiana, and Ranking Member, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 5 WITNESSES Ana Baptista, PhD, Assistant Professor of Practice and Associate Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center, The New School, on behalf of New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and the Equitable and Just Climate Forum Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 7 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 9 Jason Walsh, Executive Director, BlueGreen Alliance Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 15 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 17 Michael Shellenberger, Founder and President, Environmental Progress Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 22 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 24 Beth Soholt, Executive Director, Clean Grid Alliance, on behalf of American Council on Renewable Energy and Americans for a Clean Energy Grid Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 30 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 32 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Report, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019, submitted for the record by Ms. Castor ....................................................................................................... 54 Article, ‘‘Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change,’’ submitted for the record by Mr. Casten ...................... 54 Letter from the National Audubon Society, submitted for the record by Ms. Castor Report, Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America, submitted for the record by Ms. Castor ............................................................. 55 APPENDIX Questions for the Record from Hon. Kathy Castor to Ana Baptista ................... 57 Questions for the Record from Hon. Kathy Castor to Jason Walsh .................... 61 Questions for the Record from Hon. Garret Graves to Michael Shellenberger .. 66 Questions for the Record from Hon. Kathy Castor to Beth Soholt ...................... 73 Questions for the Record from Hon. Garret Graves to Beth Soholt .................... 78 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 041340 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\CLIMATE_CRISIS\41340\41340A.XXX 41340A ralbany on LAP520R082PROD with HEARINGS VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 041340 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\CLIMATE_CRISIS\41340\41340A.XXX 41340A ralbany on LAP520R082PROD with HEARINGS SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS: BUILDING A VIBRANT AND JUST CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 2:02 p.m., via Webex, Hon. Kathy Castor [chairwoman of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Castor, Luja´n, Bonamici, Brownley, Huffman, McEachin, Levin, Casten, Graves, Carter, and Miller. Ms. CASTOR. The committee will come to order. Good afternoon, everyone. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. Welcome to our hearing, entitled ‘‘Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy Economy.’’ As a reminder, members participating in this remote hearing should be visible on camera throughout the hearing. As with in- person meetings, members control their microphones. Members can be muted by staff only to avoid inadvertent background noise. In addition, statements, documents, and motions must be sub- mitted to the electronic repository at [email protected]. gov. Finally, members or witnesses experiencing technical problems should inform the committee staff immediately. So thanks again for participating during this somber time, as our colleague and friend, Representative John Lewis, is lying in state here in the U.S. Capitol after a lifetime of standing up for justice for all, even if that meant sitting down where some would deny him a seat. His leadership in the civil rights movement was legendary, but he worked on every issue when there was a need to encourage Americans and Congress to do more. That included climate change and environmental justice. Last year, he said, ‘‘Each and every one of us must cherish this planet, for it is likely the only home we will ever know. Combating climate change is not a Democratic or a Republican issue. It is a question of preserving this little piece of real estate that we call Earth for generations to come, for generations yet unborn. To- gether, we can solve this problem, but time is of the essence. Con- gress cannot stand on the sidelines. We have a moral responsibility to lead, and the time to act is now.’’ (1) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 041340 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\CLIMATE_CRISIS\41340\41340A.XXX 41340A ralbany on LAP520R082PROD with HEARINGS 2 So, before I ask the committee to observe a moment of silence to remember Representative Lewis, I wonder if Ranking Member Graves has made it over from his meeting so that he can provide his thoughts or if any of the Republican members would like to do so instead. Mr. GRAVES. Hey, Chair Castor, this is Garret. Thank you very much for the opportunity for the certainly appropriate honoring of John Lewis. It has been an incredible experience to be able to serve with someone who has played such an amazing role in the Civil Rights Act. You read about these iconic figures, but to be able to serve alongside of him has just been an awing experience. And it was amazing being in the Rotunda yesterday as his body lied in state. And just seeing all of the incredible history and little anecdotes and stories that folks have shared over the past few days in remembering his courageous leadership and, again, just the progress that he has made in regard to advancing the civil rights of particularly the African-American community, it has been amaz- ing. So I appreciate you raising the issue and certainly giving a trib- ute of respect to him. Ms. CASTOR. Thank you, Ranking Member Graves. So, at this time, I would like to ask everyone participating here to take a moment to remember the life and legacy of Representa- tive John Lewis. [Moment of silence.] Ms. CASTOR. Thank you all. I now recognize myself for 5 minutes to give an opening state- ment. Members, America is reeling from a number of interrelated and severe crises that I believe can be solved through transformational action and leadership. First, the coronavirus pandemic, which has tragically taken the lives of nearly 150,000 Americans, is crying out for a coordinated plan of action to control the virus and save lives. It is a sad day for me and Floridians because we set another record today for the number of deaths reported, 186 Floridians, the largest one-day in- crease so far. The pandemic has also sparked an economic crisis. Millions of Americans are out of a job as businesses shut down in response to the health emergency. And, in the middle of all this, we witnessed the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. It was a tragic reminder that systemic racism