Transcripts For CSPAN Discussion 20240704

To protect american network, this is nearly one hour and 10 minutes. Good morning, everyone. My name is alex quinn and im president of elected officials to protect america. Eopa is a nonpartisan network of elected officials who are deeply committed to protecting our planet from the dangers of the climate crisis. Ensuring land and water production and democracy and helping to ensure environmental justice. We are here today to highlight the historic investment of the Inflation Reduction Act. It is a historic investment in our security, prosperity and health. I first saw the importance of this when i was deployed out with the marine corps in iraq. It was one of those blistering hot days, when you touch the rifle, marines can sometimes be overzealous and we tried to do competitions. Who can touch it longest in the heat . Unfortunately, someone tried to blow our vehicle up. Fortunately, he was not very good at his job. As the dost the settling, we managed to catch him and realized he was a farmer. A farmer who had been paid because his crops had failed due to a massive drop due to Climate Change. Unfortunately, these droughts and disasters are becoming more and more common as we tragically have seen in maui. Now, we are seeing the urgency to protect us from natural disasters become threat multipliers. This is not limited to one area of the world. In the pacific, it is an existential threat for many ireland nations, not just from the Sea Level Rise but the salt water getting into the fresh water. So, we can no longer have fresh water to drink. These are unfortunately small examples that affect the geopolitical security situation. Coming back to the u. S. , the great thing is, we have passed a historic investment of over 270 billion to further our security, health and prosperity. The exciting thing about the ira is it creates a Clean Energy Future. In the last eight months, we have seen 96 gigawatts of new clean power announced, that is enough to power 20 million homes or one in seven homes in the u. S. We have companies who have announced the u. S. Batteries manufacturing will support 10 million evs a year. In 2001, we produced less than that, far, far less. We have the capacity now to move forward into a Clean Energy Future. There is also expected to provide private Impact Investment that is leveraging at 50 to 200 more than we originally thought. So, the opportunities are endless and how we can increase the ability of the ira to help our communities around the United States. The wonderful thing here is we have elected officials from the state and local level, economists and businesses, who are seeing the benefits of the ira locally and bringing their Community Members to prosperity because of this historic investment. So, i would like to introduce nikita next from colorado to be our first speaker. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. I am state representative look we know ricks on the great state of colorado. I am excited to be here. Like alex said, the infrastructure reduction act is giving amazing funding to all the states. In colorado specifically, water is a huge issue. The Colorado River seeds not only california, but comes down through arizona and nevada and we have seen water levels decline. All of us are at risk. It is an existential stress as far as water usage. We need to the funding that is coming through the infrastructure reduction act will allow us to make significant improvements on how we use water for our farmers, the crops have been going growing in california, everybody is using water. We need to look at that. I am excited about the investment that is going to our Public Transportation and into clean water, clean, safe, Drinking Water. We have a lot of lead pipes within colorado and this funding will allow us to replacement of these lead pipes and replace some of the infrastructure attached to the water. In addition, highspeed internet, the Digital Divide is a huge issue within our state. 16 of colorado did not have access to internet connectivity. We have about 750 Million People who could get signed up. So far, 211,000 have signed up and there is more to go. 750,000, i should say, not 750 million. We are using this funding to make sure everyone has access to digital. If you are not online, you are out of touch. Covid showed that. We need to make sure everybody who can get online to affordable connectivity is involved and engaged in that. There is over 283 specific projects identified by that will be specifically funded by this infrastructure reduction act. Colorado stands to gain greatly from the investment and we are excited to see what colorado looks like in the next few years. Thank you, very much. [applause] good morning. I am state representative sandra from georgia and im going to take it from a different perspective this morning. My transition is to clean, Renewable Energy. It is not only costeffective, but also effective for achieving energy independence. Reducing environment until Environmental Impact and enhancing market resilience. Renewable Energy Resources are often the most affordable power options available in the present day market. Renewable energies helps reduce dependence, energy helps reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuels, prices, ensures stability and security in our energy supply. By adopting a clean energy economy, we can effectively curb energy costs by simultaneously increasing market resilience. The ira plays a vital role in setting up the path towards Sustainable Energy security with a clean energy economy. In georgia, Small Business is home to 1. 1 million citizens, which is 99. 6 of all businesses in the state. This money will greatly benefit our Small Businesses in georgia. As you know, in georgia, we are having difficulties in rural georgia with our farmers. The Inflation Reduction Act will provide our farmers with a lot of investment, a lot of opportunity so they would be able to grow and be successful. Then, we also have infrastructure and internet issues in the state of georgia. This will provide millions and millions of dollars to our Rural Counties so our kids will be able to have Internet Access, because during covid, we saw that it was very much we had kids having to park at mcdonalds and go to burger king late at night trying to get internet connectivity. We should not have that. Not in the state of georgia or any state. This reduction act and the funding will provide great resources and help the citizens of georgia. Thank you. [applause] good morning. I am Council President Joyce Waterman of the great city of jersey city. This ira act is important, especially to me. Because what i do, i advocate for Diversity Inclusion so much. In this act, it will make sure that minority women and veterans are serviced, which is so important. Part of the challenge that we have in jersey city is government sometimes gives us money, but sometimes, we are behind with the training. So what we are in the process of doing right now in the city of jersey city is training different residents on how to do lead testing. Because that is a high thing in jersey city, when it comes to our School Systems. Is the lead testing. At this time, we are training people to be prepared for when the money is distributed, we are ready to go. Not only that, when you look at jersey city transportation, in certain areas, it is like a desert hub when it comes to transportation. And we need to Start Building more transportation for the people, especially in this marginalized communities, to get around. So often, we want people to thrive but we do not give them the tools to thrive. And when it comes to transportation, they need to be able to get around in order to get jobs and service their families. I am excited about this bill. I am excited about the money we will receive from this bill. I am also excited that minorities was included. There was compensation set aside. My role as an elected official is to make sure it happens. When the money comes, lets make sure it happens. So often, we are often forgotten. And one thing i want to say, in this country, we believe in longevity. But in order to have longevity, we have got to have clean health, clean water and clean soil. So, we can leave a better earth for our children and their children and their children. Our roles as elected officials is to make sure life continues on. Lets keep america strong and lets dont forget those who are less fortunate because they definitely need to have a seat at the table and we must continue to be their voice. Thank you, and god bless america. [applause] good morning. I am dr. John paula mehdi. I am a city councilman in schenectady, new york, as well as an associate professor at economics at the college of Health Sciences and president of the society. The importance of this ira cannot be understated for working families. It attacks the climate crisis, wage stagnation and inequality. This is important, because many working families bear a disproportionate burden from harmful fossil fuel production. Often in low income communities, these neighborhoods expensed higher rates of asthma and other negative effects, including lost workdays and premature death. The ira invests in communities that suffer the most from environmental and Health Hazards , providing more than 3 billion to cut pollution and improve public health. The key here is that the ira relies on incentives, rather than regulations. Allowing companies to invest in the best technology available. The ira incentivizes the use of prevailing wage to help attract more young people to manufacturing. This enhances Clean Energy Infrastructure incapacity. And capacity. Investments and job creation are vital for developing the necessary infrastructure to produce sustainable, clean energy. In particular, the iras Clean Energy Tax credit could add more than one gigawatt of new solar and wind capacity by 2030, crating millions of new jobs. The result will be a cleaner environment. Estimates are that the ira will accelerate carbon reduction 31 to 44 . For the very first time, congress is using Clean Energy Tax incentives for job creation and developing a transition from fossil fuels. An investment of 370 billion dollars. The ira is the countrys most significant investment in clean energy and clean manufacturing in history. Capable of creating an estimated 9 million jobs over the next 10 years. In my hometown of schenectady, new york, funding of wind power has resulted in 200 new highpaying jobs and 50 Million Dollars of investment in our General Electric facility. Additionally, in nearby albany, investment in wind power has created 500 construction jobs and 500 to 550 direct wind power jobs. These newly created 750 permanent jobs will benefit those families that have been hardhit by a bad economy, high inflation, high utility costs and struggling to put food on the table. Other families have struggled with high utility costs, trying to figure out how to heat and cool their homes. The ira provides new yorkers with the opportunities to purchase energyefficient appliances that will save them money. These are real savings with real effects. That is the impact of these jobs. This is the impact they will have in communities around the nation, just like in mine. Schenectady has also been impacted by the effects of Climate Change, particularly with funding. The ira provides funding to communities like mine that will boost resilience. For example, for flood proofing. You cant imagine the devastation that flooding has caused families and individuals in schenectady. To look at the devastation in their faces is heartbreaking. Hopefully, i will never have to console another family or individual in schenectady because there residence was destroyed by flooding as a direct result of Climate Change. While this legislation is the largest federal Climate Investment in history, it is just a start towards the goal of net zero Carbon Emissions in the United States. Its success is dependent on a number of factors requiring sustained attention and investment from the federal government. The u. S. Is a global trailblazer looked to for leadership. Everyone wants, needs, clean air, clean water and clean soil. This is an opportunity for the United States to show other nations the path forward, for industries to adopt Clean Energy Technologies globally. The ira has put us on a path towards Energy Security with a clean energy economy. Thank you. [applause] i have my little statistic notes here. Ok. Hello. I am sandra campbell, in the art Public Benefit corporation. I want to say thank you very much to alex and eopa for having me here. I just wanted to say quickly, a couple of things from our perspective. The other night at dinner, i got to speak to some people from the private equity perspective. The ira, the Inflation Reduction Act, has really started to fill what we see in new york, filling a pipeline of wonderful different projects that from listening to what you have said and just all of the Different Things we see streaming in. We are looking at 12 to 36 months where i am sure there will be tremendous progress in being able to start putting in a lot of different changes to help with all of the crises. Over the last few months, there has been all kinds of extreme weather. I was just noting down that globally in 2023, june, we have a record set it is the highest monthly sea surface record in 174 years, the noaa has on record. The other statistic is important to share. Statistics are compelling. The anniversary of the ira only for its historical significance for me impacts are already happening. As a member of the new York State Assembly ive been of a staunch protector of our states natural resources. Including the climate leadership and Community Protection act we passed in 2019, which has emerged as one of the most allencompassing climate objective policies nationwide. It takes important steps to combat Climate Change, including reducing greenhouse gases, implementing Clean Energy Goals and investing in Green Energy Projects in a world grappling with the realities of Climate Change, this landmark legislation represents a beacon of hope and progress. It symbolizes our unwavering commitment to forging sustainable, vibrant communities that prioritize not only our environment, but also the lives and wellbeing of our citizens. Crucially, the climate leadership and committee protection act is not just about policy and regulation. The measure also invests in Renewable Energy projects, solar rays, Wind Turbines in public, low Income Housing areas. Further, it requires our new York State Department of Environmental Conservation to report on the barriers to these opportunities for Renewable Energy projects, energy efficiency, weatherization investments and low emission Transportation Options in disadvantaged communities and to invest in these projects like we never have before. The climate leadership and Community Protection act embodies a broader principle of inclusivity and fairness. It underscores that the benefits of Climate Action should uplift every corner of our society, particularly those that have historically faced exclusion and marginalization. This is where the Inflation Reduction Act steps in with its justice 40 initiatives. Back in my home district, two communities i represent, the cities of amsterdam and gummer Montgomery County and the city of getting tatty shinning tatty schenectady county are designated justice 40 communities. These important pieces of legislation are pioneering a transformation that unholy that not only reduces the inflationary burden, but addresses the inflation of disparities among our communities. New york is a state known for its vitality and diversity. And now on the brink of a new era. An era that brings together the fight against Climate Justice and the fight for social justice in a harmonious symphony of progress. The partnership between these pieces of legislation is a testament to our resolve to right the wrongs of the past and pave the way for a future where no one is left behind. The Historical Context of the ira resonates deeply in the heart of new york. It acknowledges the communities that have long borne the brunt of industrial pollutants and detrimental emissions. To commemorate this anniversary, we also must remember it is not just looking back but propelling ourselves forward with a renewed sense of purpose. I am pleased to stand here today as we are on the cusp of change. Let us remember our actions resonate far beyond the present moment. Lets strive for an environment where the air is clean, where equity is not just a buzzword, but a lived reality. Thank you for the opportunity to join today. [applause] hello, everyone. I am proud to be on the city council in the great city of fullerton, california. In california, we have been a leader in sustainability and energy efficiency, investing in future technology. We have already seen investment in wind, solar and electric vehicle technologies. On a local level as a local policy make, we have in our city tried to invest in urban forestry and we have invested in creating a Community Choice Energy Agency for orange county. And we have invested in clean water opportunities. One of the biggest struggles we have had as a city is that we were having a hard time finding the funding to accelerate this type of investment. This act is going to revolutionize all our policies on the local level, because we will now have the funds to be able to provide the tools of investment. One other issue i want to talk about is, i represent an area that is very disadvantaged. We had a meeting with youth, a Community Meeting with our youth. One of the things that was overwhelming was how discouraged our youth are with the issue of Climate Change, this sense of insecurity for their future. I asked some of them what they want to do when they grow up. One of them stood out, a story that said, my father works as a gardener in this big mansion. He would like to work in a big mansion like that someday. There is this disincentive for our youth to seek out bigger opportunities for themselves. We pride ourselves as an Education Community in fullerton. We have cal state fullerton, the only cal state in orange county. This ic as an opportunity for investing in educational and youth technologies so young people can see more possibilities for them to grow up and have great jobs in new technologies that we are still just scratching the surface. It is important to invest in our local communities to bring back hope to our young generation, that they do have a future that is not only sustainable but they can have a thriving family in the future and opportunities for growth. Thank you very much. [applause] good morning. My name is stephan niccolo, very grateful to be here today. My fund is called full cycle, we are private infrastructure investors. You can imagine the Inflation Reduction Act has had a huge impact on the first year, this First Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act being passed through congress, it is great to see the voices up here talking about the components of the bill. I would like to share some perspectives from investors in this space to articulate what the next couple of years will look like. Globalizing the economy, starting in the United States. In addition to everything that has been shared today, i will highlight three key points that i think are important. First is around methane emissions, not something we talk about very often but one of our greatest levers for action as it pertains to decarbonization. Methane is 86 times worse than co2 on a 20 year basis. Mitigating these emissions is really important for our economy and decarbonization efforts. What we do know is that, for the first time, we have a price on methane emissions for certain emitters in our economy. This is the government in action moving the private sector toward mitigating emissions. The thing about methane emissions is there are low Tech Solutions that are achievable, investable and available today. I think that is a big difference to have government in the game with us, talking about methane and taking action towards implementing solutions. The ira includes 1. 5 billion solely for innovations around methane leaks, detecting methane leaks and mitigating leaks and natural gas infrastructure. Huge benefit for this big climate lever. The other piece in the ira we have talked a bit about from so many of experts and elected officials representing their districts today is around water infrastructure. The water industry is responsible for as much emissions as the aviation industry, not something we talk about often. Mitigating emissions for this sector will require different solutions, but will require us to have an interface between Public Sector and private sector because so much of our water is controlled by Public Sector entities. Here we are with an opportunity to think about decarbonizing this sector. We happen to be investors in a technology from a Company Called end pipe that converts the Kinetic Energy of water moving through the pipes in our streets and cities to energy for the grid. That is a material way to take this resource, capture its ability to produce energy cleanly in a carbon freeway. That is the effect of good legislation, it allows us to do this work and put this infrastructure into the ground. It is a huge unlock for investors. The third point i will make is to broaden our perspective a little bit. Over the last year, the ira has influenced the conversations around legislation globally. In the e. U. And other jurisdictions around the world, there is now competitive legislation. Because countries want to make sure companies with investors like us can invest globally, can come to their markets, as well. Here we are starting the arm races we should be. The kind of legislative arm races that allows us to think about what we can galvanize as action on a global basis and think about getting back on a path towards a decarbonized world we all deserve. I am grateful to be here to share those perspectives today. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you. [applause] im city councilman lloyd morrison. Im grateful for this opportunity to speak before you and speak on behalf of the ira on this one year anniversary. This milestone we put in the ground today to introduce clean energy to our country is one of the most invaluable things we can do at this particular point. Our job is to. Sustainable health and wealth. It is important that i lift up my voice in support of seeking available funds for transportation. What is central to me is transportation in my particular city. We do not have bus transportation. Having those opportunities to make that readily available for residents to access our particular city and in and out of our city is a job opportunity. As well as back home and travel and do everything they want to do is a unique opportunity. I am also standing firmly in support of the resilience of communities and efforts to create Sustainable Energy for Affordable Homes in low income families. That is important because we share within our community, that is central to those individuals that need to some of these breaks in their life and some of these advantages to assure they get some of the most best outlooks for their health, for their energy and to reduce costs they are absorbing. They are living in within our community. This is an opportunity for the city and state to introduce new water, transportation and represent Affordable Homes and residents within our community. That is essential and important to our community, not only me, but all communities that is here. I want to be on that train to make a difference within our community and seek some funding for our particular city and state. Whatever i can do to stand by the ira, i am willing to do it and spread this across our state. And be the biggest cheerleader in the world for the state of minnesota. Thank you for this moment and opportunity to be part to share the stage with these ideas and leaders making an impact in your communities and cities. Thank you. [applause] thank you, everyone, for those inspiring words. Now, we have time to take some questions. We are broadcasting on a webinar. The questions have been going on here. We will have hybrid questions from some in the room and some online. Of course, a lot of folks are in the room and online. One of them is, how does infrastructure law work with the ira . Would love a bit of elaboration on that. This is one of the core questions of why eopa is working with the department of energy and others, because we created a task force, in Energy Security and Climate Task Force to bring together elected officials from the state and local levels because that is where the implementation happens. So that areas that have traditionally been underrepresented have the to know what is out there . There is a lot of different programs that range from fema action being able to do preventative work all the weight to noaa, to billions 400 billion from the department of energy. It is hard to understand where these programs are coming from. They are coming pretty quick. Understanding what is out there, what the criteria is and how to apply. We formed this task force to further that along, ensure the justice 40 communities have that resource. This is why it is so important to hear from our local and state elected officials because they are the ones implementing on the ground and spreading the word. The question here is, how is it going to affect justice 40 communities . If anyone would like to take a crack at that one. My community is schenectady, new york. Probably 85 of my Community Falls under the justice 40 guidelines. We are talking about things like improvement in efficiency in housing, low Income Housing. Buildings that can be created that will be energy proficient and provide our people the necessity to have a good house, a good residence, but also one that is good for the environment. We are talking about things like transportation. I have already hit on flooding. Making sure that our people are able to get to their jobs. We have already seen the impact of the investment on jobs creation. So, more of this money in our neighborhoods and communities will have a Multiplier Effect and result in good paying jobs, but will also impact those around the community as they supply those new businesses and individuals. I just want to add to that. For jersey city, we have a challenge with lead. These fundings will definitely help with the lead program to pretty much allow us to repipe, which is so crucial, not just in the School System, but in personal homes. Often when you look at history and the materials they built at the time, i guess it was all they had. We have found out it was not as great. Now with the piping, we have a lot of lead pipes. We are setting up programs to replace the lead piping so they can be good Drinking Water for children in school. This is very important. It was also important in georgia when we are talking about the internet, down in rural georgia. As i said, Internet Access is so poor. Putting infrastructure down to put Internet Access, we know what to georgia communities a troost boost because we know that is the way to go. It is no way our kids can be successful and continue to be as great as they are without having real Internet Access. So, this is going to be a big boost for our cities and counties down in rural georgia, as well as our farmers. Our africanamerican farmers have been going through a lot lately. This money, hopefully when it is put out, it will be done the right way and it will help our farmers to be able to be sustainable and get the things they need so they will be able to continue to provide fresh vegetables for our communities and families. We talking about food deserts, transportation deserts, health deserts, which is a big problem throughout the state of georgia. We are hoping that money coming down will help aid in some of those areas. In colorado, we have issues around the internet connectivity. 16 of people are not connected to the internet. This will help with rural areas, schools also, because we have mountains and these are spread out. We have tribal lands, those people are not connected to the internet. This will enable over 750,000 people within the state of colorado. Only 211,000 have signed up for public assess access and affordable internet. We have more people that can be impacted. Clean Drinking Water is an issue, replacing pipes in different parts of our infrastructure for water. That moves through the city. This is going to be great to resources to helping all of our communities be safer, cleaner and more connected. Thank you. I think that underscores the connection between the infrastructure act and the ira act. We had a question in here looking at the connection between the two, but i think you guys just answered that in this. We had a 241, which is wonderful. We have another question here, what are the applications on the ira on National Security . That is a wonderful segue into some of our friends in the audience. From ukraine, we have rebuild together from ukraine, as well as the u. K. For ukraine and the audience. I would like to acknowledge and give you a round of applause for the amazing, inspiring, heartwarming and challenging work you are all doing. Thank you. [applause] with that, this brings up an important point of how the supply chains, the experience, the infrastructure being built for the ira has the ability to dramatically improve security in ukraine. We are working on an Energy Security Marshall Plan for ukraine so that hospitals have the ability to have solar and heat pumps when missiles and drones attack. Or instead of having petrol, we will have electric charging stations that have buses and minivans that can plug into the hospital and power the emergency and central systems that are keeping people alive when the attacks happen. Or, it can power command posts so they can keep operations running without a generator that creates a lot of heat and noise the enemy can spot easier. The bottom line is, clean energy is distributed so it is much harder to take out. And, it is much more secure. The advantages of solar, wind and other forms of clean energy have Multiplier Effects for our National Security. One of the greatest benefits it has is, we are not relying on autocratic nations, which is a majority of opec, but not all. For our energy. And we have never been reliant on putin for oil. This has a Multiplier Effects that goes beyond the United States and expand into the world to make our world more secure and prosperous. We have other veterans on the panel here. I would love to pass it off to any of the veterans if you have a comment. Oh, well, piggybacking off what alex said, i think this is going to open up a lot of doors for security between the United States and ukraine and other entities because we know that we all want everyone to be safe, not just in the United States, but all across the country, other countries. We want everyone to be safe, but definitely the people in ukraine so that you all can have the resources that you all need so that you all will be able to better move in, move out and take shelter when needed and do the things you need to do so that you can live, be successful and have kids so they can have a life beyond what they are going through today. So, just wish you all the best and hoping every day this all comes to pass so that you all will be able to have the Sustainable Growth and sustainable fuel, energy and everything you need to be successful and move forward. We have a question here that really relates to our economists or impact investors or Public Benefit corporations. Really, examples of the Multiplier Effects it has for our economy. So, what are the Multiplier Effects it can have . Stefan, you are nodding, would you like to come up . Thank you. It is a great question. One thing i can highlight is, just around not just job creation, but the opportunity to up skill and reskill legacy jobs and our economy. As we create the new infrastructure by virtue of subsidies by the Inflation Reduction Act, we will need to have new workers with new skills to operate these facilities to participate in the economic value creation. This is a chance for us to level up our american economy. That Multiplier Effect is massive. We are talking about millions of jobs that are now part of the Clean Energy Future of our country and allows us to think about a world where we are no longer on an economic basis or energy basis reliant on fossil fuels. This is a great way to lever that action and the Multiplier Effects comes down to the condition of people in their communities, their livelihoods and ability to be participants in this new d carbonized future. Decarbonized future. To build on that, on a micro level, you are talking in a local community, a factory lays off hundreds, if not thousands of people. Now, you have a opportunity to your point of people hitting job people getting job training, getting good paying jobs for a new economy. This is the up training, the upbuilding you are talking about. Those people are able to improve their quality of life. They are able to go out to the stores and are able to purchase things. That impacts the Small Businesses in our local communities and allows them to build up and build out. This is a real example of what a Multiplier Effect is. We see this directly in all of our local communities. To your point, that is excellent. What we are looking at is, these investments, these people may have been laid off and had their families devastated. Now, have the opportunity to build back up. That is what this allows us to do at a local level. Going to echo what he was saying with the jobs trainings program. I think that is where you see the multiplier the most, especially when you have so much of the rural areas and the places who are desperate to get some impacts besides being able to have them learn. They are able to go out and teach them to fish. They are going to be able to have universities now teaching solar installations, those are 80 to 90 an hour jobs. There is such a huge need right now. It is global, right . We are going to be starting here, but all of these people who are getting taught to fish can create their own farms and can go out to the world. The rest of the world really still needs it, we are still on the forefront of pushing that out. It is going to be everywhere. [laughter] in a great way. Thank you. That also speaks to our next question, which looks at, can you expand upon the role of the ira in achieving the administrations goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 . This is appropriate here, because we have maine in the room, new jersey in the room, and california in the room, which where all the offshore wind is being invested in. I know in maine, it is an enabler to allow us to create the infrastructure, research and development to put the first offshore wind turbine in the United States. And, one of the first in the world. That is unbelievably exciting, because offshore wind has the potential to power the u. S. Twice over. There is a tremendous amount of clean energy there, which will benefit the majority of the population because where do most people want to live . Next to the ocean, right . So it is a wonderful partnership. I know new jersey just passed some legislation that has a meaningful difference for offshore wind on the ira, as well. We just passed legislation for the offshore wind. We want to make sure we are on the forefront of this. We believe this is the right step to go in. Because all of this coming down, new jersey is moving forward with it. Because we are always on the front line, we are always doing something first. We are definitely taking the steps in that direction because we know the importance of offshore wind. Everyone is pretty much getting behind it at this point. Everyone is getting behind it. We are still doing what we need to do. You know what i wanted to answer because i have the mic. When i talked about investing in training and things like that for the future of what is coming with solar, i think sometime what we need to do is start looking at our School System when it comes to training. So often, we are always waiting to the children to get out of school to prepare them for the future of this country. Now, as we know, clean water, clean soil and clean air is what this country needs to thrive on. We need to start teaching the future generation in schools, these are important and give them the skills so they can survive. I think that is what part of our discussion needs to be about. And not only be about, but we need to start doing it. We want to prepare our children for jobs, not just for giving them some type of skill set and they cannot apply it. This is a Good Opportunity for us to start training our children now in schools. If they can use a computer at five years old or even younger, we can start adjusting them to start looking at the importance of keeping our environment safe. Well said. Hi, everyone. I am megan sally rose, the former mayor of culver city, california and the california director of eopa. Very happy to be here today. California is often at the forefront of environmental leadership. However, we are also one of the top oilproducing states in the nation, something you might forget when you are looking at the beautiful beaches and the vibrant economy. But, when you are in communities like mine in culver city where we have 10 of the largest urban oilfield in the United States, it is in my backyard, in my community. We have fought hard to phase out fossil fuels and have been successful in inspiring not just saving our own community, but inspiring Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City to follow our lead in phasing out fossil fuels. But, we are doing this work across the state and hopefully, we will be leading this across the nation, too. When you are on the front lines of fossil fuels, you know it is devastating to our communities. It is also the number one cause of Climate Change. Why am i talking so much about fossil fuels, when we are supposed to be talking about offshore wind . Well, what do we replace fossil fuels with . We have a tremendous opportunity to build offshore wind coast to coast that will bring thousands, if not millions, of jobs to our communities. These are high level, family sustaining jobs. What we are doing right now is rewriting the Energy Paradigm from a paradigm that harmed communities into one that lifts us all up together. That is why we are so excited about the ira and this Game Changing investment in clean energy and getting off of the fossil fuels that are harming our communities every day. Thank you. [applause] i wanted to just add and echo some of these specifically what alex said about investment in research and development. I think if we are to reach our goals as we have set them, we need to invest in research and development and incubators locally and different universities, because we can improve on the current technologies. That would allow us to accelerate the rates in which we achieve our goals. We are already seeing this in investments in Battery Technology. Batteries have improved a lot more than what we started off with. Now, cars go longer and faster. We are seeing this in locomotive. In our city, we have a Small Company that is starting to look at research and investment in Battery Technology for locomotive. In a city with the second most populous train station in southern california, that is a really important thing for us. So, whether it is wind, solar or Battery Technology, investing in research and development is crucial in accelerating the rate in which we get to our goals. Thank you. Great. We have time now for a quick recap. So, sir, did you have a question in the back . Someone briefly mentioned the situation that happened on maui. I would be interested in a Panel Response of a council member, a representative, what they would do moving forward to help the people of hawaii. Yeah, we just had we have a certificate in public leadership with elected officials to protect america and the university of san francisco. We have strong representation from hawaii at that conference we held over the weekend. That was a discussion point because sadly, the devastation there, it looks like it is a war zone. It really does. It is really heart wrenching. Moving forward, that is an opportunity to rebuild with 100 clean energy that makes the area much more resilient. Right now, they are still having problems with power. For example, when the Solar Panel Field was hit in ukraine, the missile destroyed a few of them. Within two days they were operating. So when we have storms and natural disasters that can destroy part of the energy infrastructure, it is so much more resilient. The solar on it does not have to wait for the entire community. That became a large part of the discussion, how we can leverage the fema funding that is preventative with the ira to protect cities and states like that, so in the future we are ready and resilient. I would love to open it up to communities from floods weve experienced in other places to answer the question as well. My hometown of schenectady, we are along the mohawk river. We have the Oldest Community in the United States called the stockade. And it regularly floods. That flooding, which used to be occasional, is now much more regular. Funding from the ira would allow us the ability to create an infrastructure that will protect that neighborhood to the effects of the Climate Change, and to alexs point of being able to move rapidly and quickly if the infrastructure is destroyed for the electrical, to put something in place quick and rapidly so people are not going months, if not years, and being able to get their lives back quickly. That is very impactful on the micro level. That microlevel impact expands out to the macrolevel for the entire country. Those impacts are very real and very important. When we dealt with superstorm sandy, the water came up so far into the city. We revamped our zoning laws because you have to hit those zoning laws. What we did, buildings have to be so many feet in order for it to be built and we put pumps so it can help if water comes up, and you do sustainability. Now we have tree canopies that would help of any other type of flooding in our city, and those are some of things we are doing to combat that. For the people in hawaii, i want to say my heart goes out to them and i know for the elected officials that were here over the weekend, i can see the challenges that are on their face. I hope as a country, this is when the country needs to step in. It is bigger than them. This is when the country needs to step in and give all the resources necessary because we are human beings. I just pray they can tap into whatever fema dollars are left and not just fema dollars but private dollars. We need the private dollars to help those people in hawaii. I hope as americans we start thinking like that and start putting all of our resources together and start helping one another because they need our help. There is devastation there. In the very little time we have left, lets recap how the ira can impact your Community Within a 45 second statement. Which i know is hard for elected officials. What we like to start at this end and go down . We will pass the microphone down. We are so excited about the resources the ira is presenting to colorado and all of the states represented. Our communities will be impacted by Public Transportation, clean , safe Drinking Water, more connectivity when it comes to internet connection, also roads and bridges will be impacted. It gives us all hope for our future and for communities that have been marginalized and have not been prioritized previously within our economy. We are excited about what will roll out over the next five years. In georgia we are also excited about what is to come when we talk about our Small Businesses, the impact Small Business owners will have, and electric vehicles, talking about clean air, internet, and so on and so on. We are all happy to have this coming to pass and we are looking forward to what is to come. I pray we do the right thing when it comes to the fund. I hope we do the right thing with the money, get the money to the places the money needs to go. That is key. Making sure the people that need the money get the money so that the people will be able to be helped in those different cities, towns, and communities. I am glad we are part of it, i am glad for the Bipartisan Legislation that passed and we are looking forward to this journey in the next five years on where we are going with this infrastructure. I am grateful for the ira act. My responsibility is to make sure the money gets to the right places. In government so often, there is a lot of moneys tribute, but we as elected officials know it must get to the right place. There is a lot of money distributed, but we as elected officials know it must get to the right place. For us in jersey city, we have infrastructure issues that need to be addressed. There are people in marginalized communities who need transportation, they need Public Transportation. So often, we take those Little Things for granted, but in areas where people that are marginalized, they need it. With this ira act, i believe those people will get the help. I will believe and i will be in the forefront with this to make sure minorities are being serviced, make sure that women, to make sure that minority and veteran contractors have a seat at the table because they need to feed their families also. This is so important. And i will advocate to make sure there is clean air, clean water, and clean soil. Because each entity impacts the quality of life for the residents in the city of jersey city. So im excited about it but im willing to do what i have to do as an elected official to make sure it hits my community where it is necessary. The ira is likely to be the most important Publicprivate Partnership in the history of the united dates. United states. The reality is this act creates incentive for investors to be developed in our local neighborhoods and our local communities. That will multiply beyond our boundaries of the local community into our states across the nation. This create jobs which will help families across the country , all while improving the environment where we need to get it so we can have clean air, clean water, and clean soil, so our people can live in a healthy environment and not have negative Health Impacts that the bad environment causes. This is an incredibly important act in one of the most important pieces of legislation in the history of the United States. We can pass it up. I would just be echoing that i believe my community and others, im very excited about not just the impact we will have in terms of actual Climate Change and technologies, but of course the jobs programs and apprenticeships and all of those wonderful local Economic Development opportunities that spring along the way. Thank you, everyone, for coming. I appreciate it. Lets thank our panelists. The wonderful impact will be seeing from the ira moving forward. Thank you for coming. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]