Dems Clean Energy Hearing Pushing False Solutions

Today, the Energy Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing titled "Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the U.S. Power Sector."

While such hearings are desperately needed, much of today's discussion promoted policies that would undermine the 100 percent clean energy goal.

In response, Food & Water Action Climate & Energy Program Director Mitch Jones released the following statement:

"Many of the 'solutions' floated at today's hearing would be serious obstacles to our clean energy transition, not steps in the right direction. A real approach to stopping the worsening effects of climate change would move us off fossil fuels as soon as possible. Instead, today we heard more of the same 'all the above' strategy that has made the United States increasingly reliant on fracked gas.

"The climate crisis demands a swift, fair and just transition to 100 percent truly clean, renewable energy in the next decade. That means we must reject corporate friendly market mechanisms and the fossil fuel industry's insistence that we keep fracking for gas, and focus instead on building out clean energy infrastructure while cutting off new fossil fuel production.

"We need a climate plan that bans fracking, stops new fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and gas-fired power plants, and bans exports of crude oil and natural gas--all while making serious investments that build a robust renewable manufacturing industry in the communities that have been heavily impacted by fossil fuel pollution and climate change."