Fully decarbonizing the power sector, along with electrification, would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 70-80%, helping fulfill our commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement while simultaneously creating millions of jobs, cleaning our air and water, protecting public health, lowering electric bills, and securing energy independence.

Passing a 100% Clean Electricity Standard (CES) can and must be a core part of our fight in 2021 for climate stability, economic justice, and COVID recovery.

In late March, I joined with a group of other clean energy and climate advocacy leaders from across the country to call on our Congressional leadership to support and help implement President Biden’s goal of passing a federal Clean Electricity Standard. If successful, this effort will set the United States on the path to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 – which is a critical step to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis and promote a safer, cleaner, more equitable future.

Along with the leaders of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Climate Solutions, Acadia Center Western Resource Advocates, and Fresh Energy, I am calling on our federal leadership to make a smart choice today to protect our public health and natural resources for future generations.

As we electrify our transportation fleet and move our homes and businesses toward electric heating and cooling, that power must be clean.

The key to a low, and then zero, carbon grid is the work we do now to advance electric transportation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and modern grid technologies that enable consumers and fleets to retire oil-dependent cars and trucks, and utilities to retire fossil generation without replacing it with new fossil infrastructure.

Poor air quality, substandard housing, weatherization challenges, and high energy burdens disproportionately impact communities of color and areas of rural poverty. Equity must now be at the center of our clean energy future.

The President’s bold plan calls for at least 40% of all economic investments and benefits of this transition to accrue to historically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. By enacting a federal Clean Electricity Standard with a strong focus on equity at every level, our leaders can advance environmental and economic solutions including clean, renewable energy and clean transportation that will benefit every electric customer through cleaner air and water, lower electric bills, job creation, safer communities, and energy independence. As an organization committed to making positive change for the Southeastern US, where inequities are often compounded, SACE has a longstanding commitment to the tenets of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, both within our work and in our communities. We continue to explore and identify the best ways we, in collaboration with our allies, can promote equity and encourage and engage people across our region’s socioeconomic and demographic spectrum.

I invite you to join me in sending a letter to Congressional leaders that calls for a 100% Clean Electricity Standard by 2035.

Take Action: Send a Letter to Members of Congress