Joint Statement in Advance of Senate Caucus Meeting on Clean Energy and Climate Legislation

The following statement was issued by League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski, Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Peter Lehner, National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, and Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp in advance of the June 17, 2010's Senate Caucus meeting on energy and climate issues:

Today's caucus meeting will be a milestone in the effort to transition America to clean energy and finally address the dangers of carbon pollution. We expect our environmental allies -- and all Senators who want to cut America's addiction to imported oil, create jobs, and reduce pollution -- to speak out strongly for a truly comprehensive clean energy bill. 

With millions of gallons spilled in the Gulf of Mexico and a billion dollars a day going overseas for imported oil, we can no longer afford to delay our transition to clean energy. As President Obama told the nation Tuesday night, "For decades we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires" and we must not "settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom." The time has come to act.

We are confident Senator Reid and his colleagues will opt to take the best ideas from all the major proposals and craft legislation which puts a strong limit on carbon pollution and drives the innovation necessary to create millions of clean energy jobs for America. This long sought goal is within our reach, if we have the will to make it happen.