ICYMI: Hickenlooper Celebrates Infrastructure Bill, Pushes for Carbon Pricing at UN Climate Conference

In case you missed it, this weekend U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper attended the 26th UN Climate Conference in Glasgow where he pushed for a price on carbon to be enacted globally and celebrated passage of the bipartisanInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which invests in clean energy, climate change mitigation, and contains several Hickenlooper-authored provisions including his first bill to pass Congress since his election, the RECHARGE Act. 

Hickenlooper was part of a bipartisan group of 22 senators who negotiated and wrote the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Watch Hickenlooper highlight what the bill means for Colorado:

Interview with KDVR Denver

Hickenlooper: “This is the largest investment in our future since the Great Depression… I’m determined to make sure [Colorado] gets its fair share of jobs.”

CBS 4 Denver

Hickenlooper: “I’m proud to be part of the bipartisan group of 20 senators, 10 Republicans, 10 Democrats that actually created this bill. It includes my RECHARGE bill which will lower electricity cheaper for electric vehicle owners and it was a great thing to see democracy in action.”

Interview with Denver Channel 7

Hickenlooper: “There are several places where we know we can make a change. One is making sure we transition from coal-fired electrical generation plants to clean energy… I’m a big believer if you had a fee and dividend system on carbon… there’d be an incentive for every manufacturer to figure out how to make whatever they’re making with less carbon.”

Atlantic Council COP26 Panel: Bridging the Divide on Climate, A Panel with U.S. Legislators

Hickenlooper: “The next place we need bipartisanship is in the notion of having some sort of a fee on carbon emissions based on the harmfulness… because then no matter what aspect of climate pollution you’re addressing, you have a financial incentive.”