Statement: Biden’s Recovery Package Will Build A Clean Energy Economy

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, President-elect Joe Biden announced an aggressive two-part strategy to combat the pandemic, fuel an economic recovery, and build a clean energy economy “by investing in America, creating millions of additional good-paying jobs, combatting the climate crisis, advancing racial equity, and building back better than before.”

This two-part investment is one of the strongest signs to date that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are ready to deliver on their promise of bold, decisive action to build back better.

“The country is reeling and President-elect Biden’s call for urgent action to confront the COVID and get people back to work is exactly what people need. His economic recovery package will make good on his promise to build the clean energy economy that will create millions of good-paying union jobs and address the climate crisis,” said Climate Power executive director Lori Lodes. “As Biden said, it’s time to move from talking to action. There is overwhelming, support for Biden’s clean energy infrastructure plan and Congress will  need to get this done as soon as possible.”

During the press conference announcing a COVID and economic recovery package, Biden asked us to imagine a future where American jobs and ingenuity lead the world while confronting the climate crisis.

“It’s time to stop talking about infrastructure and finally start building it. Millions of good-paying jobs that put Americans to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, and ports to make them more climate-resilient, to make it faster, cheaper, and cleaner to transport American-made goods across our country and around the world,” Biden said.

A significant investment in infrastructure and clean energy is widely popular with American voters — making Biden’s strategy not only imperative to stave off the worst consequences of the climate crisis, but also politically sound.

In a survey released Friday by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications and the George Mason University Center for Climate change Communications, a majority of Americans in both parties want the new administration and Congress to build a clean energy economy and tackle the climate crisis.

Some of the survey’s findings include:

• 66% said that developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very priority for the president and new Congress.
• More than 80% of voters support policies such as tax credits for wind and solar, clean energy research, generating clean energy on public lands, regulating carbon pollution, and a wide variety of measures to promote energy efficiency.
• 72% of voters support Biden’s plan to transition to a 100% clean energy economy by 2050.