House Democrats will soon be filling in some of the details of their broader climate strategy in an effort to support the goal they set earlier this year of ushering in a 100% clean economy by 2050.
The bill, led by Virginia Rep. Donald McEachin and supported by top House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats, would seek to codify that target into law and could be introduced in the coming days, according to several lawmakers.
The measure would establish a federal climate target of ensuring that the economy has net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and “all agencies of the federal government will have to come up with their best standards and work to respond to that goal,” New York Rep. Paul Tonko told reporters Thursday.
After that, lawmakers will shift gears to finish more comprehensive legislation, putting more meat on the bones for the “full universe of economy-wide” emissions cuts, said Tonko, who heads the House Energy and Commerce climate and environment subcommittee. He said he expects a discussion draft of that second bill could also be introduced by the end of the year or early 2020.
Tonko, McEachin, and several other House Democrats unveiled plans for a net-zero carbon economy by midcentury earlier in the year.
While that announcement was met with some environmental support, there were also factions of the Left that accused the group of not being ambitious enough.
But Tonko and other co-sponsors of the pending legislation emphasized their plan can support a broader coalition that includes environmental groups, labor unions, and maybe even some of their Republican colleagues. Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, speaking alongside Tonko at a Center for American Progress event Thursday, said the McEachin measure already has 117 Democratic co-sponsors.
“Sometimes you’ll get young people who will say … it’s a crisis, we’ve got to do it now. But what they don’t understand is that this 100% by 2050 is exactly what the IPCC said in their report,” Dingell said, referring to the United Nations climate science body.
But Dingell said she’s still worried about being able to build a coalition big enough to get legislation across the finish line. It isn’t clear whether any House Republicans would support a 100% net-zero by 2050 goal, even if the bill language is fairly broad.
“It’s great that we’ve got the Democratic votes in the House, but here’s the reality: We’ve got to get through a Republican Senate,” Dingell said. “I would like to get this done yet this year.”
