Reaction: Future Generations Protection Act is the bold climate policy we need

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 7, 2021

Contact:
Collin Rees, collin@priceofoil.org

Oil Change International: Future Generations Protection Act is the bold climate policy we need

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA) released the Future Generations Protection Act, a bill that would ban fracking in 2025, prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from approving most new liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals, and ban exports of crude oil and natural gas, among other provisions. 

In response, Collin Rees, U.S. Program Manager at Oil Change International, released the following statement: 

“The Future Generations Protection Act is a key piece of the climate policy puzzle — we can’t adequately address the climate crisis if we’re exporting billions of barrels of oil and gas to be burnt overseas. Confronting Big Oil and Gas’s deadly expansion plans is critical, and that’s what Rep. Schakowsky and Rep. Barragán are doing with this bill. 

“A just transition for workers and communities impacted by fracking and the fossil fuel supply chain is essential, but it’s difficult to start that conversation when oil and gas companies are lying about producing fossil fuels for decades to come.

“This bill is a common-sense acknowledgement of a scientific fact — we can’t solve the climate crisis without keeping fossil fuels in the ground. The Future Generations Protection Act is a great start, and we need a lot more of the bold climate leadership shown by this bill’s sponsors.”

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Notes to Editors: 

– The legislation was released in the House of Representatives with 21 original cosponsors in addition to Reps. Schakowsky and Barragán, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (MO), Adriano Espaillat (NY), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL), Jared Huffman (CA), Mondaire Jones (NY), Barbara Lee (CA), Zoe Lofgren (CA), Alan Lowenthal (CA), Carolyn Maloney (NY), Jerrold Nadler (NY), Grace Napolitano (CA), Marie Newman (IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Jamie Raskin (MD), Darren Soto (FL), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Ritchie Torres (NY), and Nydia Velázquez (NY). 

– The bill is endorsed by organizations including Oil Change International, Center for Biological Diversity, Climate Hawks Vote, Earthworks, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Progressive Democrats of America, Sierra Club, and Zero Hour.