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Though certain industries may benefit from the rollbacks, the costs will accrue to public health. As explained by U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the rollback of emissions standards “will lead to dirtier air at a time when our country is working around the clock to respond to a respiratory pandemic whose effects may be exacerbated by air pollution.” Likewise, members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition strongly opposed the decision to suspend environmental enforcement because it will “only add to the severity of the COVID-19 crisis” and likely lead to “adding patients to health care providers' already overwhelming caseloads.”

Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are slamming Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance that eased environmental compliance standards amid the coronavirus pandemic, joining a chorus of other Democrats and environmentalists who oppose the action. Last week, lawmakers in the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition called the guidance “irresponsible” and said in a letter that it “neglects the Agency’s core mission to protect public health.”

Guidance released by the agency last week informed companies they would not face fines or other enforcement actions from the agency for failing to monitor and report their pollution. “This suspension of enforcement during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis is irresponsible and neglects the Agency’s core mission to protect public health,” lawmakers in the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) wrote in a letter spearheaded by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.).

Renewable energy industries and some Democrats have begun efforts to ensure the economic response to the coronavirus helps a sector that's suddenly facing strong headwinds. Industry officials are taking pains to emphasize that COVID-19 is a public health crisis and back providing fast support to families and small businesses. But they also say broader legislation to address economic fallout should consider how the crisis is hitting the sector. The longstanding ad-hoc House group called the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition has taken up the mantle of pushing for the tax provisions in the rescue package.

The novel coronavirus pandemic and its resulting economic disruptions could delay U.S. wind and solar projects from being started or completed by the end of 2020, threatening their access to federal tax credits that are critical to their financing. Clean-energy industry groups and their allies in Congress want to stop that from happening, and they see the massive coronavirus stimulus package now being crafted in Congress as a way to do it. On Tuesday, the three Democrats who co-chair the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition — Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Paul Tonko of New York and Doris Matsui of California — called for including in the stimulus package seven wind, solar, electric vehicle, energy storage and energy efficiency bills, a subset of measures included in a House proposal from last year, dubbed the GREEN Act. They asked for the measures to be added to the $1 trillion economic stimulus plan unveiled by the Trump administration on Wednesday, which includes $500 billion in cash payments to individual Americans, $300 billion for small businesses, $50 billion for airlines and $150 billion for other affected sectors.

Democratic House lawmakers backing including clean energy tax credits in the package include Representatives Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Paul Tonko of New York and Doris Matsui of California, who are the co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. The renewable energy industry is arguing that it is also feeling the economic pain of forced business closings, layoffs and the slowdown in the supply chain. “Early results from a survey of our companies confirm some of our worst fears,” said Abigail Ross Hopper the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association

As lawmakers continue to hammer out legislation to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, House Democrats are looking to insert renewable energy tax credit provisions into a larger stimulus package aimed at stabilizing the economy. The House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition co-chairs said in a joint statement to Morning Consult that they have an eye toward addressing “both the economic slowdown we are facing as a result of COVID-19 and the ongoing climate crisis” with these measures. As a consequence of the pandemic, the U.S. renewables industry is facing widespread supply chain issues because the materials needed for wind and solar infrastructure come largely from China. And these concerns are compounded by the fact that two existing tax credits are approaching their ends...

With a possible impeachment trial looming, lawmakers and interest groups are stepping up pressure to see a package of clean energy tax incentives enacted before the end of the year. Three separate groups of House Democrats representing 166 members signed on to a letter sent today to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) calling for expansions of key clean energy tax breaks to be added to must-pass legislation. Specifically, the members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are calling for a broad expansion of the investment tax credit (ITC), including the addition of energy storage as a qualifying source; an expansion of the electric vehicle tax credit; an extension of the offshore wind ITC through 2025; and extensions and revisions of expired energy efficiency incentives. "These policies are vital steps we can take right now to address climate change while we continue the fight for broader, more comprehensive action, and this letter demonstrates clear support among our Democratic colleagues for their passage this year," said SEEC co-chairs Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) in a statement.