Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (December 12, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the Generating Resilient and Energy Efficient Network (GREEN) Communications Act to sustainably defend communications networks against climate change and extreme weather disasters.

Scientists have projected that sea-level rise will submerge more than 4,000 miles of fiber optic cables within the next 15 years. Increasing extreme weather events – like hurricanes and wildfires – also raise the likelihood of severe outages in our communications networks. At the same time, studies estimate that the information and communications industry produces about two percent of global CO2 emissions.

“Hurricane Helene and the Maui wildfires showed us that our communications infrastructure faces an ever-growing threat from natural disasters driven by climate change,” said Senator Markey. “We need a reliable communications network with service that does not disappear when you need it the most. The GREEN Communications Act provides essential resources to build resilient networks that can withstand emergency situations. I look forward to working with my colleagues to protect our communications infrastructure while also reducing the environmental footprint of our communications technology.”

A copy of the GREEN Communications Act can be found HERE.

The GREEN Communications Act would specifically:

• Authorize $5 billion for a new program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide grants and revolving loans for projects designed to strengthen the resiliency of communications networks and increase the energy efficiency of communications infrastructure
• Prioritize funding for low-income, rural, and minority communities, and for projects that demonstrate the greatest overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, benefit the most vulnerable areas, or utilize green solutions to increase resiliency
• Require recipients of energy efficiency funding to annually report on the electrical consumption – by energy source – of the communications infrastructure that is the subject of their project, as well as develop a comprehensive plan for achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their overall communications infrastructure
• Require recipients of resiliency funding to participate in the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System, submit new reports on the number and impact of network outages, and develop a comprehensive resiliency plan for protecting their overall communications infrastructure from severe weather, natural disasters, and climate change
• Direct the FCC to issue rules and establish a regulatory resiliency framework designed to minimize the number, duration, and impact of future communications network outages, as well as help plan for long-term disruptions to communications networks and support the communications needs of first responders
• Require a variety of studies and reports from relevant federal agencies, including:

• • An FCC study on the feasibility of establishing a map that shows projected risks to communications infrastructure from severe weather, environmental disasters, and climate change
  • An annual NTIA report detailing the number of network outages and the latest risks that are attributable to severe weather, environmental disasters, and climate change, as well as any shifts in the energy consumption patterns of networks and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from communications infrastructure

The legislation is endorsed by Public Knowledge, New America’s Open Technology Institute, and Free Press Action.

“Recurrent natural disasters—such as the recent hurricanes that caused internet outages for millions of people—continue to reinforce the need for resilience in our communications networks,” said, Prem Trivedi, Policy Director of New America's Open Technology Institute. “With the federal government investing over $42 billion in building out our digital infrastructure, in addition to a host of smaller funding programs, now is the time for policies that ensure what we build today will last into the future. The GREEN Communications Act provides a much-needed supplement to current broadband deployment policy by codifying the need for resilient networks and empowering the FCC to better address network outages caused by disasters.”

“Free Press Action welcomes the reintroduction of this important bill tackling the threat that the climate crisis poses to people’s ability to stay connected,” said Amanda Beckham, Government Relations Manager, Free Press Action. “We have seen for the past decade the increasingly common devastation that storms and fires inflict on Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities around the country. In 2017, our organization shone a light on the damage caused to Puerto Rico's infrastructure by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, where disruptions to communications were one factor contributing to a catastrophe that cost thousands of lives. Since then, extreme weather events like hurricanes and wildfires have only become more frequent, from Hawaii to the Carolinas and everywhere in between. It’s critical for lawmakers and regulators to ensure our nation’s communications infrastructure is as resilient and green as it can be.”

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