America’s vitality energy has by no means come from selecting sides. It has come from constructing, adapting, and main. That’s the reason the Trump administration’s determination to droop a number of offshore wind tasks alongside the East Coast is deeply troubling, not just for clear vitality advocates, however for staff, communities, and our nationwide curiosity.

I characterize Louisiana, a state that has powered this nation for generations and a state the place too many communities reside with the implications of environmental neglect. Our communities deserve clear air and clear water. They should know that financial development is not going to come on the expense of their well being, their households, or their future.

I’ve lengthy stated that neighborhood and business can coexist, however solely when the well being and welfare of communities are the focal factors of any enlargement.

Environmental justice shouldn’t be a slogan. It’s a accountability.

Louisiana’s offshore staff, engineers, shipbuilders, and mariners constructed the oil and fuel infrastructure that fuels the American financial system. We all know vitality. We additionally know that vitality safety relies on range, reliability, and foresight.

Suspending totally permitted offshore wind tasks sends the fallacious message on the fallacious time. It tells staff and buyers that the foundations can change midstream. It tells communities that long run planning is non-obligatory. And it tells the world that America is keen to gradual its personal progress whereas others transfer ahead.

Offshore wind shouldn’t be a menace to American vitality independence. It’s a part of it. These tasks have undergone years of federal assessment, together with session with the Division of Protection, the Coast Guard, and different companies. If respectable safety issues exist, they need to be addressed transparently and responsibly, not by open-ended pauses after permits have been granted.

The Gulf of Mexico provides a transparent instance of what accountable vitality growth can appear like. Our area is uniquely positioned to combine offshore wind alongside present vitality manufacturing. We now have the workforce, the ports, the vessels, and the offshore infrastructure to help this subsequent chapter. Offshore wind growth within the Gulf wouldn’t exchange oil and fuel jobs. It could construct on them, utilizing the identical abilities Louisiana staff already possess, whereas lowering dangerous emissions that disproportionately affect frontline communities.

This isn’t an both or alternative. It’s a sensible, American strategy that values staff, communities, and environmental accountability on the similar time. Offshore wind can help grid stability, meet rising electrical energy demand, and assist shield public well being by lowering air pollution, all whereas maintaining vitality manufacturing home and reasonably priced.

Vitality range is nationwide safety. A resilient grid can not rely on a single supply of energy. As electrical energy demand rises and excessive climate turns into extra frequent, we should put money into options that strengthen reliability and shield the individuals who reside closest to our vitality infrastructure.

Louisiana communities perceive the price of air pollution and the price of delay. We additionally perceive the dignity of labor and the significance of equity. Our vitality future should honor all three.

The query earlier than us shouldn’t be whether or not America will proceed to provide vitality. It’s whether or not we’ll achieve this in a means that protects communities, respects staff, and retains our nation aggressive. America has all the time accomplished its finest work when it selected management over concern and progress over retreat. We should always achieve this once more.

Congressman Carter represents Louisiana’s Second Congressional District within the U.S. Home of Representatives and is a member of the Home Vitality Commerce Committee.

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