Statement from Climate and Energy SVP Josh Freed on Environmental Group Opposition to Bipartisan Permitting Deal
WASHINGTON— Following the introduction of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, several environmental groups have expressed opposition to the bill, citing potential benefits for fossil fuel expansion. One group went so far as to say they had no interest in changing the bill— only tanking it. This opposition ignores the fact that the bill will be overwhelmingly beneficial to transmission and clean energy expansion in the United States. Third Way Climate and Energy’s Senior Vice President Josh Freed offered the following statement:
“Some environmental organizations are saying the quiet part out loud: they are more interested in obstructing imperfect solutions than working to improve them. This behavior has been on display for many years, but the strategy to sink permitting reform, as reported this week, is a rare public acknowledgment that these groups just don't get it.
"They don't get the need for bipartisan compromise, even if Democrats win the House and Senate, if we want to make any progress in the foreseeable future. They don't get that preserving the status quo in permitting isn’t acceptable if you actually care about deploying clean energy and reducing emissions. And they don't get that Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich are never going to put their names on a deal unless it’s a net win for the environment.
"This might be the most surprising misunderstanding, seeing as how these Senators have gone to the mat for climate efforts, championed land and ocean conservation, and sponsored endangered species legislation endorsed by some of the groups that are now accusing these Senators of "gutting" the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act in their permitting reform bill.
"What these groups are making clear is that they can not be taken seriously in policy negotiations when they have no intention of getting to yes on any deal that might actually have a chance of passing.”