Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) will introduce a bill this fall to put the U.S. on a path to get 100 percent of its energy from clean energy sources, the senator announced at a forum in St. Louis this morning.
Merkley made the announcement at the Netroots Nation 2016 conference, saying the U.S. needs a “bold vision” to address the challenges of climate change. “We have a big problem and time is running out,” the senator wrote in a tweet from the conference, which is an annual gathering of progressive activists.
The Democrat led efforts last month to restore a $500 million U.S. payment to the Green Climate Fund that has been targeted by congressional Republicans; the UN fund aids developing nations in adapting to climate impacts and cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. Merkley was backed by Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Mark Kirk (Ill.) on the amendment, which the Senate Appropriations Committee passed by voice vote during its markup of the State Department’s fiscal year 2017 funding bill.
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