Washington (October
22, 2021) – In three weeks, President Joe Biden will attend
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
26th Conference of Parties (COP26), where he will be expected to
advocate for global climate cooperation, secure additional emission
reduction commitments, and catalyze bold action from world leaders to prevent a
global temperature rise greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Ahead of COP26,
Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Rep.
Ilhan Omar (MN-05) today led 58 colleagues in a bicameral letter to President
Biden urging him to secure a deal on his Build Back Better agenda that
maintains strong climate provisions. The lawmakers outlined a “climate test”
for the reconciliation package, which includes the scientifically
necessary emissions reduction goal of cutting climate pollution at least in
half by 2030, while creating good union jobs and advancing environmental,
racial, and economic justice.
“The climate crisis presents deadlines that are imposed on us by science --
deadlines that are rapidly passing us by,” write the lawmakers in
their letter. “The COP26 summit could be the last opportunity for world
leaders to take bold action before it is too late to secure a livable climate
by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We’re facing an
existential crisis, with American leadership, economic prosperity, and our very
lives at stake.”
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
Other Senators
signing the letter include Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Martin
Heinrich (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) , Cory Booker
(D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
Members of the House of Representatives signing the letter include Reps.
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mondaire Jones (NY-17),
Barbara Lee (CA-13), Marie Newman (IL-03), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14),
Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Peter Welch (D-VT), Karen Bass
(CA-37), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), André Carson (IN-07), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Nanette Diaz
Barragán (CA-44), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Raúl M. Grijalva
(AZ-03), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jamie Raskin
(MD-08), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Alma S. Adams,
PhD. (NC-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Doris Matsui
(CA-06), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), A. Donald McEachin (VA-04), Donald S. Beyer Jr.
(VA-08), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Jerry McNerney
(CA-09), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Grace Meng (NY-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26),
Hank Johnson (GA-04), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja
Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Gerry Connolly (VA-11),
John Larson (CT-01), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Mike Levin (CA-49), Debbie Dingell
(MI-12), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Adam Smith (WA-09), Mark Takano (CA-41), Paul
Tonko (NY-20), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Dina Titus (NV-03), Thomas R.
Suozzi (NY-04) and Nikema Williams (GA-05).
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