With Country on Road to Recovery, New National Coalition Says We Need to #ACTNow to Build Better Future With More Jobs, Justice and Climate Solutions for North Carolina and Nation

The ACT Now Campaign, composed of 14 groups operating in 12 states with 10 million members between them, launches multi-platform campaign in support of President Joe Biden’s #BuildBackBetter Plan and Infrastructure Investments

Environment North Carolina

Raleigh, NC — On the heels of President Joe Biden’s national economic address in Pittsburgh, a powerful coalition of climate, environmental and public health advocates, 10 million strong, launched the #ACTNow campaign in North Carolina and 11 other states across the nation.  

ACT Now campaign organizers say, now that we have taken the first step to provide the tools to recover from the pandemic through passage of the American Rescue Plan, it’s time to turn to creating a plan that tackles the climate crisis, puts people to work and rebuilds our economy now. The coalition will be engaging North Carolinians and others around the country in charting a path toward rebuilding our economy to get this nation back on its feet, while doing so wisely and with an eye toward a just and cleaner future that promises: 

• New economic opportunity and jobs for all; 

• Equitable access to those opportunities, particularly in communities that have long borne the brunt of the impacts from a dirty economy; and

• Solutions to the climate crisis facing us and future generations by creating a clean energy economy that can protect our health, air, water and climate, while also growing our economy.

“In North Carolina, the interconnected impacts of climate change, environmental injustice, and economic downturn are all too visible,” said Susannah Tuttle, Director of North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light. “The Build Back Better plan puts us on a path to safeguarding Creation, addressing the impacts of climate change on our most vulnerable neighbors, and fulfilling our moral obligation to leave a habitable world for future generations.

North Carolina has been battered by hurricanes in recent years and intense rainstorms have caused record flooding across the state that communities are struggling to recover from. Extreme heat waves have also become more frequent, creating dangerous conditions for those who work outside or lack air conditioning. 

“North Carolinians love traveling the Good Roads State from the Outer Banks to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and President Biden’s Build Back Better plan will make it easier for us to explore our beautiful state with electric cars we can charge easily,” said Dan Crawford, Director of Governmental Relations for the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. “70% of Americans support the president’s plan, which will make it cleaner and less expensive to power our homes, businesses, and cars, so we can invest more money in our families.” 

Targeted investments in clean energy infrastructure have the ability to reduce pollution, fix bridges and roadways, jumpstart the electric vehicle economy, build out equitable housing and public transportation for all communities, improve public health, while providing millions of good-paying union jobs for American workers, and improving the quality of life for all Americans, particularly in the marginalized communities that have borne the brunt of unsustainable development, pollution, and climate disasters.

“Rebuilding America will take a transformational investment plan that delivers jobs, justice, and clean energy to communities across the country and curbs the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis,” said Drew Ball, Director of Environment North Carolina. “Building back better is about rebuilding the right way and not repeating the mistakes of the past. Congress must approve these investments to create a just and equitable economy that ensures a cleaner and healthier future for all Americans.” 

In North Carolina, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, Environment North Carolina, and North Carolina League of Conservation Voters are leading the ACT Now Campaign, encouraging North Carolina’s members of Congress to support President Biden’s call to tackle the climate crisis, make our infrastructure cleaner and more resilient, and drive growth for our state and national economies, in the form of his Rebuild America Plan.