Lawmakers are returning to Springfield for a special session this week for a vote on the Clean-Energy Jobs Act, aimed at decarbonizing the economy and bringing clean-energy jobs to Illinois. Jack Darin, with the Sierra Club Illinois chapter, says the landmark climate bill was poised to pass at the end of the legislative session, but negotiations over closing coal-fired power plants by 2035 held it up. While opponents say closing coal plants would force workers out of jobs, Darin says the bill takes those workers into account.
“Black and Brown communities, communities that are facing the loss of coal plants as they have been going offline over the last decade – these are the places that we really want to focus these investments in.”
After phasing out coal plants by 2035, the plan would phase out natural gas by 2045 to reach the goal of 100-percent renewable energy by 2050. Darin adds that achieving climate goals goes hand in hand with lifting up communities that have been most impacted.
Darin adds that scientists have said for years how urgent it is to move away from fossil fuels. He says polluters such as the Prairie State Coal Plant should not be exempt from the 2035 closure target.
“Representatives and senators can make that a reality next week, if they say no to the state’s biggest polluters attempts to exempt themselves from this, this what would otherwise be one of the nation’s leading climate-action programs.“
In addition to investing in more clean energy and creating jobs in underserved communities, the bill would fund more transportation and electric-vehicle infrastructure, as well as create an EV Access for All program to make sure all residents reap the benefits of clean transit.
***Report Courtesy of the Illinois News Connection***
