Long-Awaited House Report Provides Blueprint for Congress on Climate Change

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2020) – After months of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis issued a sweeping report today outlining how Congress can address threats caused by the climate crisis.

“While responding quickly to climate change has always been critical, the urgency caused by the pandemic has only highlighted the need to rebuild better and cleaner,” said Michael Obeiter, senior director for federal climate strategy at the National Audubon Society. “Audubon’s science shows that we need to reduce global temperatures significantly to save the places that both birds and people need to survive. This report presents a comprehensive blueprint to protect wildlife, while rebuilding a stronger economy and more just future.”

The Select Committee’s report is divided into 12 “pillars” that provide guidelines for addressing key areas of response to the climate crisis, including:

• investing in clean energy technology;
• supporting restorative agricultural practices that capture harmful carbon pollution and keep it from entering the atmosphere;
• protecting communities that are especially vulnerable to pollution and the effects of climate change, which disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color;
• restoring and preserving our rivers, lakes, coasts and oceans;
• reducing risks from flooding, wildfire and drought; and
• helping communities across the country prepare for and better withstand the effects of climate change by building with the future in mind and using natural solutions to reduce climate threats.

While the Select Committee is bipartisan, today’s report was primarily authored by committee members from the Democratic party.

“We appreciate the leadership shown by the committee in producing this report, and we look forward to working with both sides of the aisle to help avert the worst impacts of climate change,” said Obeiter.

Last year, the National Audubon Society released a report showing that if the rate of global temperature rise is allowed to continue at current pace, two-thirds of North America’s birds will be vulnerable to extinction. But if that rise is slowed to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the majority of those birds can be protected.

About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

Media Contact: Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org