Washington D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Representative Jared Huffman of California, introduced the Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021. The bill stops new leases and ends non producing leases for coal, oil, gas, oil shale, and tar sands on federal lands. The bill aims to keep over 90% of the potential carbon emissions from oil, gas, and coal on our federal lands and waters in the ground.
350.org Policy Director Natalie Mebane said in response:
“We cannot meaningfully address the climate crisis without stopping the expansion of fossil fuels. Two weeks after Biden unveiled the American Jobs Plan and with one week to go for his Leaders Summit on Climate, this is the perfect opportunity for the United States to take a decisive step away from fossil fuels and towards a just, renewable future. It is time for Congress to act and for our government to stop using our public lands to benefit the fossil fuel industry. If we’re really the global leaders we say we are, we must ensure that all fossil fuels stay in the ground.”
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