FACT CHECK: Republican Rep. Carter Claims Conservatives Are Leading on Clean Energy in Georgia, Despite Opposing the Clean Energy Plan

Washington, D.C. – In an op-ed for the Washington Times, Georgia Representative Earl “Buddy” Carter wrote, “Red states, including Georgia, are proof that conservatives are best positioned to lead on clean energy and climate change.” In fact, Rep. Carter voted against the clean energy plan in 2022, and since then congressional Republicans have pledged to kill President Biden’s clean energy plan at least 31 times. 

The private investments that Rep. Carter touts are actually thanks to President Joe Biden’s clean energy plan, which has spurred over $23 billion in investments in new clean energy projects in Georgia, helping to create almost 30,000 jobs. Georgia is currently second in the country for most new clean energy projects because of the clean energy plan investments, yet Rep. Carter said the law “unleashed a wildfire on the American peoples’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars.” 

Since the passage of the clean energy plan, new clean energy projects have brought jobs and investments to Georgia districts represented by Republican members of the House. 32 of Georgia’s 39 projects are in Republican-held districts, representing 82% of all projects in the state, $20.4 billion in investment, and 19,105 new jobs. In Rep. Carter’s district, the plan has spurred 8 projects totaling $7.8 billion in investments, creating 7,222 jobs. 

Nationally, the plan helped create over 271,000 clean energy jobs in just the past year and a half, the majority of which are in districts represented by Republicans. Over 270 projects totaling $262.19 billion in investment and 144,532 new clean energy jobs are in districts represented by Republicans. 

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