There Will Be No Bipartisan Bill on Infrastructure Unless There Is Also Major Legislation Addressing Climate Change

By Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanders' Facebook Page

08 July 21

ook around the world right now. Just last week, temperatures in Portland, Oregon reached a record-breaking 116 degrees. Much of the West Coast is experiencing severe drought that could trigger another unprecedented wildfire season. In the Midwest, record rainfall overwhelmed Detroit’s ability to handle the storm which resulted in cars being abandoned on flooded highways. In New York City an emergency alert was sent to all cell phones asking people to conserve energy or risk blackouts. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic Ocean, we have the earliest fifth-named storm ever in Tropical Storm Elsa.

There is no longer any doubt: failure to act on climate change and cut carbon emissions will mean more heatwaves, more drought, more rising sea levels, more flooding, more extreme weather disturbances, more failing electrical grids, more blackouts, more mass migrations, more disease, more acidification of the oceans and more human suffering.

So you will forgive me for not having a lot of patience when some of my colleagues in the Senate tell me that we can’t afford to act on climate change. Really? The question that we must be asking, as loudly as possible, is how can we afford not to act?

That is one of the reasons I say there will be no bipartisan bill on infrastructure unless there is also major legislation that addresses the existential threat to our planet of climate change. The bad news is that addressing the climate crisis cannot simply be done with a few tweaks around the edges. The good news is that we can meet the challenges of this moment, create millions of good-paying jobs in the process and help lead the world in a new energy direction.