Sen. Whitehouse at COP31 While Advancing Trump-Backed Fossil Fuel Giveaway at Home

In response to news that U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is attending COP31 today, Oil Change International's United States Campaign Manager, Collin Rees, said,

“Senator Whitehouse is a reliably strong voice for climate action and a frequent presence at the climate talks. This makes it even more disappointing that he’s choosing to introduce and champion a Trump-backed bill that would accelerate massive buildout of fossil fuel projects and AI data centers by weakening environmental protections.

“Whitehouse is one of the lead sponsors of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). His involvement acts as a smokescreen for the Big Tech, Big Oil, and industry-funded front groups who have spent millions of dollars lobbying for the bill.

“BAAJA could fast-track construction of hundreds of proposed gas power plants and pipelines, polluting communities’ air and water, desecrating Tribal Nations’ sacred sites, and raising households’ energy bills. It would gut bedrock environmental laws in exchange for some weak promises Trump has already committed to breaking.

“Proponents’ own modeling shows that the bill’s transmission provisions would have no discernible benefit to our climate, while unlocking unprecedented fossil fuel development. At best, this bill leaves U.S. emissions over 2.1 billion tons short in 2040 of even a modest climate goal.

“Senator Whitehouse knows better than most the damage the fossil fuel industry has done to our climate and democracy. That's precisely why he should be standing up to Trump and Big Oil, not cutting deals that hand them even more power. Climate leadership at COP31 must be matched by climate leadership at home, and that means rejecting BAAJA.”