Washington, DC— In response to news that Senator Joe Manchin opposes the inclusion of climate provisions in the reconciliation package under consideration by Congress, Reed Hundt, President and CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital released the following statement:
“Public-private investment is by far the most effective and economically sensible way to accelerate the transition from carbon to clean power. There are 40 green banks in 40 states ready to be funded or in development. With the collapse of the reconciliation climate package, it’s time for the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to capitalize a national green bank and get all the state banks investing. They’ve already successfully invested nearly $10 billion with state money alone.”
Background
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 letter to congressional leaders urging action on climate infrastructure, over 140 mayors called for the creation of a national green bank. Governors from ten states 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.