By Ramona du Houx
On September 17, 2020 Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Future Generations Protection Act. This bill would help ensure a rapid shift to clean renewable energy by stopping further expansion of fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure.
Specifically, the Future Generations Protection Act would ban greenhouse gas emissions from all new power plants, stop hydraulic fracking, and ban crude oil and natural gas exports. It would also prohibit the Federal Energy Resources Commission from approving new liquified natural gas terminal siting or construction, unless doing so would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The wildfires currently devastating our country and heightened hurricane threat prove we can’t afford to wait any longer to act on climate change,” said Schakowsky. “These once-in-a-generation disasters are now normal occurrences and securing our environmental health and prosperity for future generations requires that we address the source of the problem—fossil fuels. Of course, Congress must be thorough when it comes to passing legislation that has the potential to cause mass labor displacement and pair this bill with a jobs package. The Future Generations Protection Act is a critical step toward creating opportunities for more economically viable solutions and a cleaner, healthier future for all.”
“I’m proud to join Rep. Schakowsky in introducing the Future Generations Protection Act, which recognizes that following the climate science means transitioning off fossil fuels,” said Barragán. “We have seen the devastation that just one degree of warming from burning fossil fuels can bring: unprecedented wildfires, rising seas, reoccurring 100 year floods, extreme drought, and stronger storms. Increasing our dependence on fossil fuels is incompatible with a habitable planet, now and for future generations.”
Fossil fuels drive climate change. A major step to stop drilling. This stops fracking, halts new fossil fuel power plants, and ends oil and gas exports.
No action on this measure is expected until after the election.
