By Jerry Nowicki
As global leaders met in Glasgow, Scotland, over the past two weeks to discuss the effects of and potential policy solutions to climate change, governor JB Pritzker made the case in a pair of speaking events that Illinois is doing its part to counteract troubling climate trends.
It was the governor’s first international trip, which took him first to London to talk with business leaders, then to Glasgow to attend the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26.
Monday, Pritzker joined Hawaii governor, David Ige, Oregon governor, Kate Brown, and Washington governor, Jay Inslee, in a discussion about the states’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
“I’m here to say that in America’s heartland lies a state that’s taking strides to match the urgency of this moment,” Pritzker said, calling a recently-passed energy regulatory overhaul a “Nation-leading climate plan.”
That climate bill, among several other provisions, aims to phase out carbon emissions in the state’s energy sector by 2045 by increasing investments in renewables and the state’s nuclear industry. Another goal of the climate bill and a follow-up business incentives package aims to put 1 million electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2030.
The international visit was also an effort by Pritzker, members of his staff and Democratic Party leaders of the General Assembly to tout the state as a fertile ground for electric vehicle manufacturers.
“We created a bill and passed it only 10 days ago, but it is one of the best incentivizing EV producers, battery manufacturers and charging companies to build facilities and to create jobs in the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
— Capitol News Illinois