Investments in Climate Still Critically Needed

Trails in Coeur D’alene, Idaho. Photo credit: Tim Mossholder. Schitsu’umsh land.

A major package of climate investments that Congress negotiated and came to agreement on could stall unless citizens reach out to their elected officials soon.

Toward the end of 2021, we talked a lot about a big opportunity for climate investments through a package that came to be known as Build Back Better. If you missed the political rollercoaster, you probably have better boundaries with the news than we do. Here’s a short summary:

 Over the fall, the Democrats worked to build consensus around a big spending package. A leading piece of the package was a series of investments in conservation and climate, including funding for a Civilian Climate Corps (about which we are very enthusiastic), funding for the Forest Service to do incredibly important wildfire mitigation and much more, and funding for trails and conservation. Climate change should be a leading issue for everyone who cares about the outdoors. As our Policy Associate, Jamie, recently said, it’s a threat multiplier for everything we care about. The process of bringing Democrats to consensus was fractious, and the news didn’t miss an opportunity to pronounce the death of the agreement.

Toward the beginning of December, though, the package seemed to be coming into shape. After protracted negotiations, Democrats appeared to be on the same page until Senator Manchin (D-WV) caught everyone off guard when he pronounced the package dead. Manchin’s primary concerns seemed to be about issues not related to climate and the environment. Congress took a recess in December, and, by the time they came back in January, there was a big question hanging over everyone: is Build Back Better really dead, and, if so, how can Congress work to salvage pieces where there really is broad agreement, including on critical conservation and climate funding?

Leaders in Congress seem ready to dive back into what can be salvaged from the Build Back Better package, starting with climate investments. Right now, it seems most policymakers, including Sen. Manchin, agree on a package of $555 billion to invest in climate, including big investments in the Forest Service, wildfire funding, and climate resilience; there are also investments in urban parks; access to public lands, and trails; and the Civilian Climate Corps. You can read more about these pieces here.

Here’s where you come in. There was tremendous momentum toward generational, critically-needed investments in climate and the outdoors. Considering how many billions the U.S. is now spending annually on climate and climate-related disasters, it is even more pressing to think about how we can invest in mitigation to protect people, communities, and landscapes now. The energy around the package has abated some from the fall, and it’s critically important that elected officials hear from their constituents now.

We’ve come too far to let this opportunity slip, with too much good stuff that would be truly transformational for public lands. That means that everybody, across the aisle, needs to feel a fire lit under them to pass climate investments. It has to happen, and nobody else can deliver that message except constituents.

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