WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned experts on opportunities to address the threat of climate change through clean energy alternatives and technology innovations. The Senator’s questions came during an Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee hearing on the status and outlook of energy and innovation.

“We’re now at about 400-plus parts per million in carbon in the atmosphere,” said Senator King. “The last time we were there was 3.6 million years ago, when the average temperature in the Arctic was 60 degrees. So that just gives you a flavor of where we are. I mean, we’re in totally uncharted territory now, and I do think it’s urgent…

“Moonshot has been used a number of times, and I think it’s fascinating,” added Senator King, referencing previous comments from his colleagues. “The origin of that term is the Apollo program. And the key to it is Kennedy saying we’re going to do it in 10 years…a concrete goal is what made [that] happen. What should be our concrete goal in energy?…If you’re going to do a moonshot, you’ve got to know where you want to land.”

Also during the hearing, Senator King questioned witnesses on why America left the Paris Climate Agreement – a move Senator King criticized at the time as “a mistake of historic proportions.” Senator King then asked former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to identify top research and development opportunities that should be prioritized in order to advance American energy interests and reduce carbon emissions. In addition to former Secretary Moniz, witnesses at today’s hearing included Paul Dabbar, Undersecretary for Science at the Department of Energy; Jason Grumet, President of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Jay Faison, Founder of ClearPath; Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO of the Council on Competitiveness; and James Wood, Interim Director of the Energy Institute at West Virginia University.

A forceful advocate for clean energy solutions, Senator King has previously introduced the Next Generation GRID Act, which would encourage energy independence, foster innovation, and leverage federal resources to support a more resilient 21st century electricity grid through the use of distributed energy resources (DER). He is also the lead sponsor of the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Support Act, legislation that would support CHP technology that efficiently leverages byproducts of the forest industry, diversifies energy options for rural industries, and maximizes use of Maine’s natural resources. Senator King introduced the latter bill in November 2017, after holding an ENR Committee field hearing at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont to identify opportunities to use new energy efficient technologies to sustain and strengthen rural industries.