U.S. Climate Leadership is Back With Biden’s Bold Ambitions to Significantly Reduce Emissions and Combat the Climate Crisis

Washington, D.C. – Today, Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, issued the following statement on the U.S.’s bold ambitions around the White House Leaders Summit on Climate today:

“Today’s Climate Summit and President Biden’s new ambitious target of cutting carbon emissions sends a strong message to leaders around the world – and leaders right here at home – that America is back and is serious about tackling the climate crisis. Since Day one, Biden has taken aggressive steps to combat climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement and introducing his landmark American Jobs Plan. This once in a generation opportunity will allow the country to build back better with infrastructure and clean energy, while creating millions of good-paying union jobs. The administration is living up to its promise to voters, and now it’s time for Congress to act.”

According to a new survey released by Data For Progress in partnership with Climate Power, the vast majority of voters (76%) want America to exhibit global leadership to address climate change and there is strong bipartisan support for Biden’s American Jobs Plan (71%) when voters are given information about the climate and clean energy components of the plan.

The administration’s climate efforts have also received strong support from state and local officials, as well as across the business and science community. Yesterday, more than 1,200 officials from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. called on Congress to seize this “once-in-a-generation opportunity to help our communities recover by creating and sustaining millions of good paying jobs, putting us on the path to 100% clean energy, and building a more equitable and just society.”

This follows closely on the heels of last week’s open letter to President Biden from 411 businesses and investors calling for the administration to set bold climate targets. Signers included companies such as Google, Apple, Ben & Jerry’s, Gap and Coca-Cola, and which together represent over $4 trillion in annual revenue and employ over 7 million U.S. workers in all 50 states. More than 1,000 scientists followed suit, penning a letter to Biden echoing the business community’s calls for the administration to target cutting emissions by at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. And earlier this week, a coalition of 13 electricity companies also wrote to President Biden in support of implementing a Clean Electricity Standard as a way to reduce emissions.