As States Thwart Climate Progress, Progressives Pitch A Lifeline To Green Cities

Photo caption: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) speaks during a news conference on rent and mortgage cancellation in Washington on March 11. Caroline Brehman via Getty Images. Article by Alexander C. Kaufman. HuffPost – April 19, 2021.

Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are pitching a Green New Deal for local governments.

The Biden administration has started laying the groundwork for the most substantive federal policies to slash planet-heating emissions ever. And at the city level, mayors and lawmakers are making plans to zero-out carbon pollution through renewable power and better building codes.

But conservative lawmakers bent on preserving fossil fuels’ grip on the economy have been busy erecting new barriers at the state level. Texas is considering bills to curb renewables. West Virginia is advancing legislation to force power plants to keep burning coal. A dozen states are considering legislation that would bar cities from enacting building codes that ban natural gas hookups in new buildings. […]

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