Climate Protections Assemble Infrastructure Package, Not Penalties

This article was written by Larisa Manescu, and edited by Jonathan Finlay.

In recent days, despite President Biden ending negotiations with Senate Republicans and directing Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill to move forward with an infrastructure package rooted in the vision he’s laid out in the American Jobs and American Families plans, a small group of senators have widely discussed a different, significantly smaller proposal.

Details are continuing to emerge, but on Sunday, Senator Collins shared that this proposal would include punitive fees on electric vehicle owners.

“No Climate, No Deal”, Pleas Pierce

In response, Sierra Club’s Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:

“No climate, no deal. This call has been echoed far and wide over the past week that any infrastructure deal that fails to centre addressing the climate crisis is no deal at all. This includes any attempt to penalize clean energy and hamper the electric vehicle transition.

“Enough games and delay tactics. We must build on the existing vision President Biden laid out in the American Jobs Plan and pass a big and bold infrastructure package that prioritizes frontline communities, creates millions of family-sustaining jobs, cuts climate pollution in half by 2030, and advances gender, environmental, Indigenous, economic, and racial justice.”

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters.

In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action.