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Make Your Voice Heard in D.C. on Climate Change
The members of the U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bill to address the most pressing issue facing God’s creation - our changing climate and the emissions that are causing our planet to grow warmer. This bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454), is sponsored by Committee chairman Henry Waxman of California and Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
This is a moment of opportunity and great urgency - please take a few minutes to contact your Representative and urge her or him to support strong climate change legislation!
Climate change’s impact already falls, and will continue to fall, most heavily on the people around the world who are least able to mitigate the impacts - people living in poverty in the U.S. and in developing countries. As a leading industrialized nation that has disproportionately contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, it is incumbent upon us to rectify this injustice through national legislation to reduce global warming.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Support the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454)
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am urging you, my Representative, to support the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454) and work to strengthen it. As a constituent and a person of faith, I am concerned that people living in poverty around the world will suffer first and most if we do not aggressively reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. I also urge you to support efforts to protect those living in or near poverty in the U.S. from the impacts of rising energy costs, to provide transition to those whose jobs are impacted by climate legislation and to provide assistance to those living in poverty around the globe as they adapt to a changing climate.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
June 16, 2009
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Update on the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act
Recent Activity
On May 21, 2009 the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454), sponsored by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Representative Edward Markey. The bill was then referred to eight other House committees having jurisdiction over portions of the bill, which includes mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions with a “cap and trade” system of enforcement and compliance. The legislation also includes a national standard that would require electricity generating companies to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. ACES provides funding for a host of related programs, including financial support for residential, commercial and non-profit buildings (including houses of worship) to retrofit their structures and reduce their energy use.
On the whole, ACES represents an important first step in addressing climate change by putting in place mandatory caps on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are causing our climate to change and temperatures to grow warmer.
Next Steps
All of the other committees that have oversight over ACES are likely to move it along without significant changes, and our main concern is to ensure that efforts to weaken the bill are not successful and that the bill is as strong as possible. The full House of Representatives may vote on ACES as soon as the week of June 22nd.
ELCA's Position
The ELCA and the faith community have urged cuts in greenhouse gas emissions of between 25 and 40 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. The bill will meet our long term goal for reducing emissions; however, because of the need to reach agreement with lawmakers who represent districts with industries that are heavy emitters of carbon dioxide (steel manufacturing, for example) it does fall short in reaching our short term emissions reduction goals.
Another important goal for the ELCA in climate legislation was to ensure that low income Americans do not bear the heaviest burden as we move to cleaner energy sources in the form of higher energy costs, and ACES meets this objective. It provides assistance to ease the financial burden that low income families—those whose household income is in the bottom fifth of all U.S. families—will bear as we transition to a more just and sustainable future. It also will help to contain increased electricity costs for middle income consumers by giving electricity distribution companies free emissions credits in the early years of the legislation as a way to help them manage costs as they transition to lower-carbon sources of electricity. We would have preferred a direct-to-consumer rebate to give consumers the option of cutting their energy use and saving the rebate for other expenses, including all of their increased energy costs, not only those associated with their electric bills. However, ACES will help to manage costs to middle income consumers as utilities shift to cleaner sources of energy.
Our final goal for this legislation was to ensure that funding is available to help low income communities in the U.S. and around the globe adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already happening and that we will not be able to prevent in the future. The international adaptation assistance program created by the bill is strong, but the funds made available through the bill for this assistance are significantly less than are needed to help the poorest communities and countries deal with impacts such as drought, severe storms and rising sea levels. We believe that as the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. has a moral responsibility to help the most vulnerable developing nations deal with these impacts, and we will continue to work for more funding for this program in the future.
In summary, ACES, although not a perfect bill, will begin the important work of transforming our energy economy to cleaner sources; will take on the critical task of reducing our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions; and will limit the impact of both of these actions on those living in poverty around the globe.
Stay tuned for what you can do to help ensure that this important legislation is successful in the coming weeks!
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