MADISON, Wis. — From the cost of carbon to planning for more bikeways and pedestrian paths, Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature hope to see more movement on a package of legislation they first put forth two years ago that aims to create a green economy.
If the ‘Forward on Climate’ legislative package sounds familiar, that is because it was first introduced last session.
Building from the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, lawmakers reintroduced 20 bills Thursday, ranging from job creation to inequality.
“What we have in front of us is, as always, the opportunity to build a Wisconsin that thinks about the long term,” Minority Leader Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said during an exclusive interview.
For Neubauer, tackling climate change is a chance to solve a problem that affects a lot of people, whether they realize it or not.
“We really wanted this package to reflect the opportunities that we have in Wisconsin to build a state that has great jobs, where we address many of our longstanding inequities while making sure that we are preparing for a future that will be impacted by climate change and doing what we can to mitigate climate change,” Neubauer explained.
However, moving those ideas forward hasn’t been a fast process.
“It’s tough when you have bills that cost money or add additional regulation to get that through this body,” Neubauer added. “Of course, the people of Wisconsin want to see us addressing this issue, but I think this is one of those areas in which the gerrymander has really hampered our efforts to get something done on climate change.”
Meanwhile, something is being done at the federal level to the satisfaction of Democrats thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The legislation that was introduced today would go a long way towards ensuring that the intent of the federal money is actually doing the most it can in Wisconsin,” Carly Eaton, a policy advisor at the BlueGreen Alliance, said.
She believes the bills are just another piece of the bigger puzzle.
“The thing that we are so excited about at BlueGreen Alliance, as a coalition of labor unions and environmental organizations, is that this legislation really fully rejects the idea that we have to choose between good jobs and a healthy environment,” Eaton added.
Neubauer would agree federal action is better than nothing.
“But we do need to see action at the state level here, and we have not seen that, despite the public being very clear that they understand this to be a problem,” Neubauer said. “We understand that the dynamic has shifted in Wisconsin. When I started six years ago, we still did have people who were sort of saying climate change wasn’t real, and you don’t hear that very often anymore.”
For her, that’s a small sign that could mean she will see more support for those kinds of proposals this time around.