02.14.20

Nat. Resources Committee Holding Feb. 26 Hearing on Chair Grijalva’s Public Lands and Waters Climate Change Bill, Rep. Westerman’s “Trillion Trees Act

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Feb. 26 at 10:00 a.m. in Longworth 1324 on two bills introduced by Committee members designed to address climate change.

  • H.R. 5435, the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act, was introduced on Dec. 16, 2019, by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). It requires public lands and waters to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
  • H.R. 5859, the Trillion Trees Act, was introduced on Feb. 12, 2020, by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). It endorses the United National Environment Programme’s “Trillion Trees Initiative” and promotes domestic forestry policies that focus on the harvest and replanting of trees on federal, state and private lands. The bill approaches climate change from the premise that carbon sequestration is best achieved by converting living forests into commercial wood products.

Each year, public lands and waters are responsible for nearly a quarter of U.S. carbon emissions. As the Natural Resources Committee heard at the 22 climate-related hearings it held in 2019, climate change is now severely impacting U.S. national parks, wildlife, fisheries, water supplies, forests, and resources managed by the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service.

After gathering data on how climate impacts all facets of its jurisdiction, the Committee is now set to debate potential solutions.

As with all hearings and markups, the event will be open to press and the public and will be livestreamed at http://facebook.com/nrdems.

A witness list will be released next week.

Press Contact

Media Contact: Adam Sarvana

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626 mobile