Senators Markey and Van Hollen Introduce Legislation to Create a National Climate Bank

Statement

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced the National Climate Bank Act, legislation that would create a federal bank to leverage public and private funds to invest in clean energy technologies and infrastructure. The National Climate Bank would provide financing to eligible regional, state and local green banks, make investments directly into projects that reduce carbon emission, and provide technical assistance for the start up of new green banks around the United States. The legislation is also co-sponsored by Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Across the nation -- in Connecticut, New York, and Michigan, public money has been used to leverage six to twenty times more dollars in private investment. On a national scale, investing just $35 billion of public funds into a national climate bank could generate between $213 and $700 billion in total investment into clean energy related projects. An investment of that size in new installed renewable energy could mean more than 70 percent of U.S. homes powered by clean electricity, all with an investment less than one percent the size of the current federal budget.

The National Climate Bank would be capitalized with $10 billion initially, with an additional $5 billion every year for five years.

"When we invest in clean energy projects at home, we can export American technology and expertise overseas instead of importing foreign oil,"said Senator Markey. "A national climate bank is a model for how the financial, government, and private sectors can work together to leverage investment in climate action. We must continue to find innovative ways to capture and accelerate the momentum of the green economy, and a National Climate Bank will help invest in projects that are looking to decrease energy use and decrease carbon emissions."

"We stand at a precipice when it comes to addressing the threat of climate change. A central part of any plan to deal with the crisis must include a major federal investment in clean technologies. A smart way to do this is to create a National Climate Bank, which will give a jump start to the great work already happening at the state and local levels and within the private sector," said Senator Van Hollen. "This builds upon and adds to the Green Bank Act, which I was proud to lead in the House of Representatives and will continue to fight for in the Senate. As this Administration continues to deny the harmful effects of climate change, the creation of a National Climate Bank is one way we can move forward on building a 21st century clean energy economy -- with good-paying American jobs and a more sustainable future."

Specifically, the National Climate Bank would make the United States a world leader in combating the climate crisis by catalyzing and mobilizing private capital, increasing clean energy accessibility and environmental justice, supporting the creation of new green banks, and exploring ways to support the retirement of emissions-intensive generation. The National Climate Bank will seek investment and procurements in areas such as renewables, storage, transportation, transmission, resiliency, efficiency, reforestation, agriculture, and industrial de-carbonization. The Bank would explore new and innovative investment approaches to reduce emissions, including a "Cash for Carbon" program in the utility sector, where globally 42 percent of coal power plants are unprofitable but still operating.

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