Sen. Ossoff: “We can employ our people and save our planet by making smart investments in green technology, clean energy production”
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff made a passionate case for passing a bold infrastructure and clean energy package, pointing to his generation’s commitment and obligation to transitioning to clean energy, saving the planet, and creating good-paying jobs.
Amanpour noted that as the youngest member of the U.S. Senate and the Senate’s first millennial, Sen. Ossoff and his generation have even more on the line in a possible infrastructure and clean energy package, and she asked what’s at stake as the Senate negotiates this bill.
Sen. Ossoff replied that the decisions we make now “will not determine just the continued strength and greatness of the United States, but also our capacity as a species to flourish without destroying our environment.”
He also pointed to the historic deal he helped broker between SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution, which saved 2,600 skilled jobs in Georgia and billions of dollars of future investment in the state.
Thanks to Sen. Ossoff’s leadership, SK’s electric vehicle battery production plant will make Georgia a leader in clean energy technology production and attract other clean energy production to the state.
Watch Sen. Ossoff’s answer here.
Please find a transcript of the exchange below:
AMANPOUR: “And finally, you mentioned the American Rescue Plan. But there’s also the big infrastructure bill. You are the youngest elected Senator, I think you’ve just turned 34, you’re a millennial. What does it mean to your generation? Who’s gone through the recession? You know, the threat of climate. What does all of this mean to the future generation of Americans?”
OSSOFF: “The United States and all of humanity are at an inflection point right now. The decisions that we make about the transition to clean energy, dramatic reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, investments in sustainability and infrastructure will not determine just the continued strength and greatness of the United States, but also our capacity as a species to flourish without destroying our environment. My generation more than any other is committed to making that transition. It is one of our generational obligations to see to it that we make these investments and that we enact policies that will allow our species to thrive without undermining the basis for life on this Earth. And those are indeed the stakes as we contemplate this infrastructure bill here in the United States. But the opportunities, Christiane, are enormous. As I just mentioned, a $2.6 billion electric vehicle battery plant was threatened by a trade dispute recently in my home state of Georgia. My team stepped in, President Biden’s team stepped in, we mediated a settlement to that dispute. And now thousands of Georgians will be working in Skilled Jobs producing electric vehicle battery technology for decades to come. We can employ our people and save our planet by making smart investments in green technology, in clean energy production. We have to do it now, and it is truly a test of our capacity as a country to assert our vision, our strength, and our greatness by investing in our infrastructure and saving our environment.”
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