Today, Politico reported that President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for Secretary of Energy. Her selection would mark progress toward a cabinet capable of delivering on climate and environmental justice and an improvement over potential nominees Ernest Moniz and Arun Majumdar, both of whom have extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry.
In response to Jennifer Grahholm’s expected nomination for Secretary of Energy, Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner Lisa Ramsden said:
“We’re glad that President-elect Biden is listening to the thousands of climate justice activists who opposed fossil fuel representatives like Ernest Moniz for Secretary of Energy. Jennifer Granholm has forcefully spoken out against both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and advocated for shifting investment from oil and gas to renewable energy solutions. That’s the kind of leadership the Department of Energy has been sorely missing.
“Still, Granholm has her work cut out for her to prove she can lead the transition to a more just, democratic, clean energy system. The DOE’s role in COVID-related economic stimulus and the responsibility of carrying out Biden’s plan to make the nation’s electrical grid carbon-neutral by 2035 will both fall to Granholm. Climate destruction is only possible in a world in which racism is tolerated, and we need leaders in government who aren’t afraid to call out oil and gas corporations for their decades of unjust pollution. We’ll be watching to see if Granholm rises to the challenge.”
Among the first of Biden’s climate and environmentally-focused cabinet announcements, Granholm’s nomination is an important signal for how the administration could take shape. Thus far, progressive efforts pressuring Biden to choose a cabinet of climate champions include a sign-on letter from 145 groups opposing all fossil fuel-connected appointees, a sign-on letter opposing BP advisor Ernest Moniz, a two-day protest at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, a projection display at the Department of Energy headquarters, and a website opposing Moniz and other fossil fuel representatives.
ENDS
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, [email protected]
