The New Energy Future in Indian Country
The New Energy Future in Indian Country: Confronting Climate Change, Creating Jobs, and Conserving Nature
WASHINGTON – Indian Tribes disproportionately bear the brunt of climate change, the National Wildlife Federation said in a new report.
On the flip side, their potential to generate clean energy from renewable sources on tribal lands presents an opportunity to tribes to be a significant part of the solution through climate policy that creates green jobs and protects natural resources.
The report, The New Energy Future in Indian Country: Confronting Climate Change, Creating Jobs, and Conserving Nature is a collaboration between the National Tribal Environmental Council, Native American Rights Fund, and Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, and the NWF. It provides an overview of the possibilities for renewable energy in Indian Country, detailing case studies of wind, solar, geothermal and biomass production, and energy efficiency/weatherization.
“The vast potential on tribal lands to generate clean energy from renewable resources means that, Indian Tribes can help to provide for their own energy needs, generate clean power for a new energy future in Indian Country, and put American on the path to energy independence,” said Bob Gruenig, senior policy analyst, National Tribal Environmental Council.
Steve Torbit, director of NWF’s Rocky Mountain Regional Center and Tribal Lands Conservation Program said Indian tribes have 95 million acres of land under their management, centuries of experience conserving the natural world, and can play a significant role in protecting natural resources from climate change and coping with a warmer world.
“With our partners, we developed this report to showcase the tremendous opportunities tribes have to implement renewable energy, energy efficiency, and participate in the green economy, while protecting their natural resource heritage,” Torbit said.
“Our band is at the forefront of national efforts to build a new energy future, and we must continue to invest in renewable, sustainable power to ensure that 20 percent of our energy comes from renewable power by 2020,” said Monique La Chappa, chairwoman, Campo Kumeyaay Nation, home to the first wind farm on Tribal land. “Wind power development is the accelerant to the Campo people’s vision for 2020: THRIVE – A Generation of Promise.”
Read the press release here.
Read the news story in Indian Country Today here.
Download the full report here.
