Washington, DC— Reed Hundt, chairman and CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, released the following statement today in response to the House passing HR 1, The Lower Energy Costs Act, which would repeal the $27B Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF):
“The Coalition for Green Capital doing business as the American Green Bank Consortium (AGBC) intends to ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to capitalize a nationwide green bank network with up to $20B. It will include community development financial institutions, community development credit unions, and green banks in every state. With $20B in capital, we project more than $250B in public-private investments in clean power solutions.”
“These investments would occur in every state, and especially in low-income communities across the country. For this reason, we are surprised and disappointed that the House voted 225-204 to repeal the GGRF that enables this capitalization. We hope every senator is fully aware that every citizen of every state will benefit from pollution reduction, greenhouse gas reduction, job creation, and lower energy prices if they stand against the repeal of the GGRF.
“In 2022 alone, the AGBC caused nearly $5B of public-private investment in nearly 20 states. In several states, members of the AGBC have already started supporting CDFIs to extend their financial prowess to clean investing. These projects are added to state tax bases, lowering unemployment, and benefiting communities in their health and in their pocketbook. To scale the public-private concept to every state, EPA needs to continue to administer the award of the GGRF funds, and HR 1 should be stopped in its tracks.”
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ABOUT COALITION FOR GREEN CAPITAL
The Coalition for Green Capital (@CGreenCapital) is a non-profit with a mission to halt climate change and redress climate and energy-related environmental injustice by accelerating investment in clean energy technologies and by advocating for, creating and implementing green bank institutions. Green banks are a proven finance model that uses public and philanthropic funds to mobilize private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other decarbonization technologies. For over a decade, the Coalition for Green Capital has led the Green Bank movement, working at the federal, state and local levels in the U.S. and countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/.
