North Bay Congressman Rallies Local Support to Address Climate Change

The gas-powered Valley Generating Station is seen in the San Fernando Valley on March 10, 2017 in Sun Valley, California.
Photo credit David McNew / Getty Images

The national climate debate is getting a hearing in the Bay Area, as a North Bay Congressman brought in the issue at a recent town hall meeting.

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) made the case for the Democrats’ recently released Climate Crisis Action Plan, and laid out the plan at a virtual town hall meeting this past week.

“Next step is to try to get this country on a path to dramatically reduce emissions and hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” he told KCBS Radio.

The goal of the Climate Crisis Action Plan is to achieve a net-zero emission economy by 2050.

“Different sectors of the economy have different recommendations and policies, but the electricity that we use is going to have to be 100% clean, and that can happen very quickly,” he said. 

Other recommendations include increasing public investment and clean energy technology, as well as strengthening emission standards. 

Republican House members, in the meantime, are pushing back against the proposals, arguing that they’ll disrupt the U.S. economy, but do nothing to address growing emissions from other countries. 

--#SolvingTheClimateCrisis will allow us to build a healthy, resilient, & just America. We have a chance to make real change—across all sectors of the economy and society. The climate crisis isn’t waiting, and neither should we.Let's get to work. https://t.co/SdPclFePvh

— Rep. Jared Huffman (@RepHuffman) June 30, 2020