EUGENE, Ore. – Several senators sent a letter to the
President, urging the administration to declare a climate emergency.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley was one of the leaders trying to
persuade the president to take this action, with the senators stating that a
national emergency is not something to take lightly.
We spoke with Senator Merkley about the letter and what the
President would be able to do with the declaration.
“What declaring a national emergency on climate would
do, is to allow the president to move billions of dollars to tackle challenges
we face,” Sen. Merkley said. “Energy efficiency, so that we use less
fossil energy and building out renewable energy infrastructure. We have to
electrify everything with renewable energy.”
The senator said that he would like to see the
administration roll out a measure every week that helps tackle the climate
crisis.
One step would be bringing together several agencies
including the Department of the Interior and Department of Energy to address
the issue.
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