Amazon, IBM, Others Urge Congress to Go Green on Infrastructure

Dozens of energy, technology, financial and chemical companies urged Congress to make clean energy and climate spending central to any infrastructure package, citing the ‘urgent imperative’ to confront the economic and physical risks of climate change.

Amazon.com Inc., Bank of America Corp., and American Airlines Group Inc. joined energy companies like Duke Energy Corp., Edison International, and Exelon Corp. in framing climate action “as a business imperative” in a statement sent to congressional leadership.

Companies already have taken ambitious actions to cut emissions and made significant investments in clean energy systems, the letter said. But continued U.S. competitiveness depends on infrastructure that “enables innovation and incubates the low-carbon industries of tomorrow in our communities,” according to the letter.

That will require bigger investments in clean electricity but also buildings, decarbonized freight and passenger transportation, and broadband, the companies wrote.

While some tradeoffs are inevitable in any legislative package, “the urgency of accelerating the transition to a net-zero economy, while strengthening our resilience to future climate impacts, makes clear that investments in a resilient, net-zero future should be a priority for any infrastructure package,” the companies said.

The Biden administration has backed a bipartisan plan calling for nearly $600 billion in infrastructure spending. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are pushing to get additional parts of Biden’s agenda—including spending for clean energy and advancing climate-resilient infrastructure—through Congress using a fast-track process known as reconciliation. That approach would need only 51 votes to pass.

Pelosi said Monday that House Democrats remain committed to more green infrastructure spending.

Other companies backing the statement, released by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), include Archer-Daniels Midland Co., BASF Corp., DuPont Inc., IBM Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.