- March 7, 2016
Carper, Coons, Carney Call on Congress to Establish National Clean Energy Goals
Delaware Congressional Delegation joins call for more than 50 percent of U.S. electricity to come from clean and carbon-free sources by 2030
WASHINGTON – Last week, the Delaware Congressional Delegation joined resolutions in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to support a national goal of producing more than 50 percent of American electricity from clean carbon-free sources by 2030. Today, Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congressman John Carney (all D-Del.), sponsors of the “50×30 Resolutions,” called on Congress to enact legislation that would meet the 50×30 goal to curb the costs of climate change, grow the economy, improve public health, and preserve national security.
“The notion that we must choose between efforts to curb the effects of climate change and growing our economy is false. In fact, taking action to move this country toward a clean energy future will strengthen our economic outlook, while improving the health of our environment,” said Senator Carper, a top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “By enacting legislation that sets achievable goals for carbon-free electricity, Congress can help to spur investment in new, clean technologies and create thousands of good-paying jobs – while also reducing our country’s carbon footprint, and curbing the growing costs of climate change. I look forward to working with my colleagues to translate the goals of the 50×30 resolution into a legislative action solution.”
“If the United States is going to lead the way on one of the greatest challenges our world faces today, we must accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy,” said Senator Chris Coons. “Many businesses in Delaware and across the country like Amazon, DuPont, Bloom Energy, GE, and Procter & Gamble are already leading the way and proving that we can create new jobs and spur economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. I am also very proud of Delaware’s commitment to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. By laying out national goals for a clean energy economy, this resolution demonstrates the path we must embrace for creating a clean energy future. As climate change continues to threaten human health, the environment, and our national security, we must take action now.”
“Delaware has always been a leader when it comes to innovative energy policies,” said Congressman Carney. “By committing to the 50×30 initiative, our state and our country can ensure that we’re moving towards a future that’s both beneficial to our environment and our economy. I will continue to work with our delegation, and folks at the state and federal levels to achieve these goals.”