Washington, D.C. — Reducing the devastating impacts of extreme weather and climate events demands decisive action from federal, state, and local policymakers to design bold and equitable solutions to climate change.
A new column from the Center for American Progress recommends three actions that Congress should take to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas and other pollution and build healthy and safe communities and infrastructure:
- Design national climate policies to reduce pollution in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
- Create a National Climate Bank to drive public and private investment into renewable energy, clean transportation, and community resilience projects targeted at helping economically disadvantaged areas, tribal communities, and communities of color.
- Permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief Program.
“Congress must take immediate action to create bold and equitable climate policies to disrupt the deeply troubling trend of more costly and devastating extreme weather and climate disasters,” said Cathleen Kelly, a CAP senior fellow and co-author of the column.
By designing equitable climate policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants in areas overburdened by poor air and water quality and building equitable, healthy, and safe communities, Congress can support economic security and address the unfair and reprehensible legacy of racial and wealth inequality, the column says.
Read the column: “3 Bold Actions Congress Should Take to Equitably Address Weather and Climate Disasters” by Guillermo Ortiz and Cathleen Kelly
For more information on this topic or to talk to an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected] or 202-478-6327.