Statement of Nathaniel Keohane
President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
February 7, 2023
In response to the State of the Union Address:
“The most important thing President Biden said on climate tonight was this: ‘There’s much more to do… We have got to finish the job.’ The Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law were significant, even historic, accomplishments; but the work is not over. President Biden was right in 2020 when he called the threat of climate change one of the four historic crises of our time. He was right in 2021 when he made an ambitious commitment of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels, and when he set an even more ambitious goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. But it’s going to be impossible to meet either goal if we spend the next two years resting on our laurels.
“C2ES is laser-focused on how the United States can meet our 2030 target and get on track to net-zero by mid-century. We are working with leading U.S. companies—who understand that they need well-designed policies to meet their own net-zero commitments—to define a concrete administrative and legislative policy agenda that can help close the gap to that 2030 target. That agenda starts with implementing the IRA rapidly and effectively—but it doesn’t end there. Both Republican and Democratic policymakers in Congress are engaging because this is not about politics, but about the future of the U.S. economy and America’s leadership in the world. Mr. President, we will hold you to your pledge tonight. There’s an opportunity here and now, with your continued leadership, to build on historic achievements and finish the job. We hope you will seize on it.”
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To reach a C2ES expert, contact Alec Gerlach at press@c2es.org.
About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) works to secure a safe and stable climate, by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. Learn more at www.c2es.org.
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