Inside the Greenhouse is a monthly update on FCNL’s environmental advocacy and the emerging climate issues that impact our work.   

Will Congress Finally Deliver Sufficient Climate Aid to Developing Countries?

In his budget request for Fiscal Year 2024, President Joe Biden included roughly $5 billion to assist developing countries struggling with climate disasters. This is just under half of the $11.4 billion that the president pledged in 2021 to provide annually by FY2024.

The president’s request includes funding to assist underserved communities and strengthen their resilience to climate impacts. These impacts include storms, drought, increased water scarcity, decreased agricultural productivity, and hunger. The funding would also help expand the use of renewable energy globally and contribute to conservation efforts.

In his budget request for FY 2024, President Joe Biden included roughly $5 billion to assist developing countries struggling with climate disasters.

As some members of Congress insist on spending caps and budget cuts, FCNL is committed to ensuring that the next federal budget includes, at a minimum, the president’s request for international climate assistance. Given that the United States is one the largest historic emitters of greenhouse gases, the U.S. government has a moral obligation to address the global effects of climate change.

House Passes Harmful Energy Package

On March 30, the House passed an energy policy package that would bolster fossil fuel use by making it easier to trade natural gas and by increasing the number of offshore oil and gas lease sales. The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), introduced by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA-1), would also prevent the president from stopping fracking and rejecting fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

Although the bill is unlikely to advance in the Democrat-controlled Senate, it represents a significant attempt to repeal specific provisions in the historic Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169).

The House bill bans incentives for oil and gas companies to cut methane emissions, repeals funding allocated to cutting pollution and energy costs, and gets rid of raised fees for drilling on public lands and waters.

Lastly, the Lower Energy Costs Act reforms the permitting of energy projects by limiting environmental reviews and shortening the period for lawsuits against projects.

In short, the legislation poses a stark contrast to the climate-positive bills passed in the last session of Congress. We will continue to urge lawmakers to focus on bills that increase the equitable deployment of green energy.  

News and Updates

Reintroduction of Environmental Justice for All Act
On March 22, Reps. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7) and Barbara Lee (CA-13), together with Sens. Cory Booker (NJ) and Tammy Duckworth (IL), reintroduced the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice for All Act. If passed, this bill would allow groups disproportionately affected by climate change to hold federally-funded polluters accountable for environmental discrimination. The bill was named after the late Rep. A. Donald McEachin (VA-4), a champion of environmental justice. We continue to support this transformational legislation. 

New IPCC Report Highlights Urgency to Act
In the final installment of its six-part assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called on world leaders to urgently and collectively address the climate crisis before global warming exceeds 1.5°C. “Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

EU Passes Zero-Emission Law for Cars
European Union (EU) officials approved a law on March 28 requiring that all cars sold after 2035 be zero-emission. Germany, a large car producer, successfully negotiated to exempt vehicles run by e-fuels—carbon-neutral fuels made with captured CO2 emissions.

What We’ve Been Reading

Staff: Jus Tavcar

Jus Tavcar

Interim Legislative Associate, Sustainable Energy and Environment (2022-2023)

Jus Tavcar is the interim legislative associate for sustainable energy and environment. In his work, Jus lobbies Congress to pass policies in favor of transitioning into a just green economy.

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