Letter to The Editor: The American Jobs Plan

By Terry Hansen
Hales Corners, WI
(April 17, 2021)

President Joe Biden’s proposal to upgrade our nation’s infrastructure, the American Jobs Plan, has a strong climate focus.  It aims to make our infrastructure more resilient to climate impacts, and it includes initiatives to reduce emissions in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

The President’s plan would provide not only funding for roads and bridges, but also for sustainable housing and buildings, electric vehicles, and research and development for clean energy technology.

A 2020 report on managing climate risk by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission validates President Biden’s climate goals.  This document details the threat that climate change poses to America’s energy, water, transportation and communication infrastructure.  For example, it asserts that extreme precipitation, inundation from sea level rise, extreme heat and forest fires “challenge nearly every element of transportation systems, from bridges and airports to pipelines and ports.”

Regarding climate solutions, the report concludes that “it is essential that the United States establish a price on carbon.  This is the single most important step to manage climate risk…In the absence of such a price…capital will continue to flow in the wrong direction, rather than toward accelerating the transition to a net-zero emissions economy.”

The report also “recognizes that pricing carbon is beyond the remit of financial regulators; it is the job of Congress.”

That’s why I’m encouraged that the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act has been introduced in the House of Representatives.  This bill puts a steadily rising fee on carbon dioxide emissions and returns the money to the American people.

Let’s urge our members of Congress to take action to address this critical security threat.

References:

How Infrastructure and Climate Change are Linked Issues
https://thebulwark.com/how-infrastructure-and-climate-are-linked-issues/

American Jobs Plan
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/

Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System (Executive Summary, p. ii, par. 3; Chapter 2, p. 15, par. 2; and Chapter 8, par. 1)
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8234-20

Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act
https://energyinnovationact.org/