Washington, D.C.— On the first day of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the White House released a fact sheet outlining bold plans and action taken by the Biden administration to address the climate crisis, including the recently released framework for the Build Back Better plan. The fact sheet released today named the creation of the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, the national green bank, as a key policy proposal to invest in the clean energy economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The fact sheet reads, “The [Build Back Better] framework will set the United States on course to meet its climate targets, achieving a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels in 2030 in a way that grows domestic industries and good, union jobs and advances environmental justice. Specifically, it will […] Advance environmental justice through a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will invest in projects around the country, while delivering 40% of the benefits of investment to disadvantaged communities, as part of the President’s Justice40 initiative.”
President Biden included the national green bank that would inject funding into state green banks, as a key climate provision in the American Jobs Plan. The House passed the green bank as part of the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 3684), marking the third time the Accelerator has been passed by the chamber. In a July letter to congressional leaders urging action on climate infrastructure, over 140 mayors called for the creation of a national green bank. Last month, 10 governors on the front lines of the climate crisis called on Congress to pass the National Green Bank, because doing so would be one of “the most impactful actions to protect our climate” and environmental groups echoed that message.
Read the White House fact sheet here.
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