Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12) said she plans to introduce a “100 Percent Clean Economy Act” after President Donald Trump announced that his administration plans to formally withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
President Trump has called the accord a “total disaster” that hurts the economic “competitiveness” of the United States. In a statement released Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration has sent official notice to the United Nations about its plans to leave the agreement.
“Today we begin the formal process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter. “The U.S. is proud of our record as a world leader in reducing all emissions, fostering resilience, growing our economy, and ensuring energy for our citizens. Ours is a realistic and pragmatic model.”
Today we begin the formal process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is proud of our record as a world leader in reducing all emissions, fostering resilience, growing our economy, and ensuring energy for our citizens. Ours is a realistic and pragmatic model.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 4, 2019
In response, Dingell said in a statement that the administration’s decision to move forward with withdrawing from the accord is “stunning, but not surprising.”
“As the California fires rage, even the biggest climate deniers have to see that global climate change is real,” the Michigan congresswoman said.
Dingell said she plans to introduce a bill with her colleagues in the coming days that would set America on a course to achieving a 100-percent carbon-free economy.
“At this consequential moment, the United States of America should be leading all countries in the fight against climate change and not pulling back from the world stage. This is an existential threat we all must face together,” she said. “Bold, urgent actions and defined goals are needed. Let’s set our course to achieving a 100 percent clean, net-zero economy—as called for in the United Nations IPCC 2018 climate report.”
“My colleagues and I are working on legislation to set this ambitious goal,” Dingell continued. “Introduction and more details on the 100 Percent Clean Economy Act will be coming soon. It’s only through American might, ingenuity, and leadership that we can rise to meet this moment for future generations and the planet we call home.”
She has yet to release details on who will join her in introducing the bill, though Michigan’s Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI-11) clearly wasn’t pleased with the administration’s decision to leave the agreement.
“This is a totally misguided decision that undermines America’s global leadership and puts our planet at risk,” the freshman congresswoman wrote on Twitter. “We cannot ignore the realities of climate change.”
This is a totally misguided decision that undermines America’s global leadership and puts our planet at risk. We cannot ignore the realities of climate change.https://t.co/Hw7ZrFSZ9w
— Rep. Haley Stevens (@RepHaleyStevens) November 5, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
