While District Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) was supposed to hold an in-person press conference Monday introducing legislation that would fund a $200,00 study examining the effects of greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) on climate change, Mother Nature had other plans.
Due to the historic storm that dumped snow across the nation, Lewis George announced the Greenhouse Gas Emission Study Act in a virtual event Monday as opposed to at Marvin Gaye Greening Center in Northeast D.C., with the extreme weather highlighting the very climate change the proposed bill is trying to research.
“Moments like this highlight how much harder it has become to manage the day to day operations when the systems we rely on were built for a climate that no longer exists,” Lewis George said during the press conference. “For the District to thrive in this new reality, we have to adapt, and to adapt effectively, we must first understand what lies ahead.”
This legislation examines the direct impacts GGE has on the District and how they will affect future conditions.
The study, which the bill will outline is intended to be paid for by the companies polluting the atmosphere and contributing to climate change, will provide the city’s decisionmakers with the information necessary to adequately adapt to a changing environment and act accordingly in regards to climate investments, infrastructure upgrades and energy independence. It will also serve as a way to ensure capital investments are planned for and developed responsibly.
Lewis George introduced this bill six weeks after the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act was passed in Maryland. The state’s legislature overrode Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) veto of the legislation, which now puts Maryland on the path of being the third state behind New York and Vermont to pass similar accountability legislation.
This announcement also comes at a time when giants in the oil and fossil fuel industry, like the nation’s largest oil and gas trade association, the American Petroleum Institute (API), are calling for a halt to state climate accountability lawsuits and asking Congress for legal immunity. Supporters of the GGE Study Amendment Act encourage Congress to reject such pleas, as major fossil fuel companies were responsible for more than 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 — over half of the world’s planet-heating emissions.
“These national polluters must pay for the damages they caused,” D.C. Rep. Oye Owolewa told The Informer. “D.C. residents, and all Americans, deserve pure air, clean water and trash-free neighborhoods.”
A Mission to Stay Proactive Against Climate Change
As a child of Nigerian immigrants, holding oil and gas companies accountable for their contribution to pollution and, in turn, climate change, hits close to home for Owolewa.
He wants to avoid what happened in Nigeria in the early 1970s when oil production in the Niger Delta dramatically increased and had negative social, political, economic and environmental impacts on the region — including an oil spill that people in the affected community didn’t receive compensation for until 2021.
“Passing this bill helps prioritize our attention on the health of our planet and communities,” Owolewa told The Informer. “This legislation is an important step to protect our community from the dangers of climate change.”
One of the most prevalent extreme weather events D.C. faces is rising temperatures, causing more frequent heatwaves.
The fossil fuel industry is responsible for 75% of GGEs worldwide, making it the biggest contributor to the climate crisis that is causing rapid global warming. D.C. has been experiencing the consequences of global warming for decades, as in 2016, it was reported that the city grew warmer by 2°F over a span of 50 years – higher than the nationwide average.
According to D.C.’s 2024 Climate Change Projections and Scenarios Update, between the baseline period of 1991 to 2010, the District experienced an average of nine days per year when temperatures exceeded 95°F. The report predicts that by 2030, the city will experience 22 to 24 days annually exceeding that temperature, and 36 to 67 days by 2080. Five to six days of the year are expected to reach over 100°F, whereas during the baseline period, such temperatures averaged less than one day.
Now, in the winter months, the city becomes more susceptible to debilitating snowstorms like the most recent one, creating a need for more research on the conditions causing such extremes, as proposed in the GGE Study Amendment Act.
“With clear neighborhood-driven information, we can truly identify major sources of pollution, try to strategically reduce … pollution points and harmful emissions, and then also bolster the readiness for extreme heat, flooding and poor air quality,” said Glenn Hall, Ward 8 resident and organizer with Young, Gifted & Green, during the press conference.
Lewis George formally introduced the bill to the D.C. council on Tuesday in alignment with Maryland’s RENEW Act, as a symbol of shared regional understanding the impacts of climate change are prevalent across the region as a whole, and that coordination is essential to remaining resilient.
“It ensures that future actions are well-targeted and guided by evidence and foresight, rather than just reactions,” said Lewis George. “We cannot eliminate uncertainty from climate itself, but we can eliminate uncertainty from how we plan for it.”