Washington, D.C.— In response to the landmark climate legislation signed into law this week, the Coalition for Green Banks (CGC) issued the following statement:
“We’re thrilled that the creation of two new green banks was included in the historic climate legislation passed by the Illinois state legislature and signed by Governor Pritzker,” said Jill Bunting, Deputy Director of the CGC. “Both the Climate Bank and the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund will help fund clean energy projects throughout the state while surging jobs and much needed investment to frontline communities. We applaud state leaders for their work on this landmark initiative and congratulate them on joining over a dozen other states in leveraging a green bank model to spur clean energy infrastructure. As more states join the network of green banks, funding for a national green bank— as currently included in the budget reconciliation package— will be critical for the success of state green banks like these.”
Background
With enactment of this bill, Illinois joins more than a dozen states including Florida, New York and Connecticut that use publicly funded green banks to spur investment for renewables, energy efficiency and other projects, especially in communities that have been underrepresented in the clean energy economy.
Legislation signed into law this week established two financing mechanisms modeled after green banks. The Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund, will focus on equitable lending and supporting clean energy projects in low income and marginalized communities. The Illinois Finance Authority Climate Bank will leverage public-private partnerships to fund clean energy projects across the state.
The creation of a national green bank, the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, is currently under consideration by Congress as part of the budget reconciliation package and was approved this week by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.