WASHINGTON 鈥 Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz is at the forefront of Democrats鈥 push to make climate change a top priority in American politics should his party retake power in Washington after the November elections.

On Tuesday, Schatz joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several of their Democratic colleagues to unveil a outlining their legislative agenda to reduce carbon emissions, spur job growth in renewable energy and expose the corporate interests that for years have downplayed the climate crisis and controlled the counter narrative by spreading false and misleading information.

The proposal seeks to achieve net-zero global emissions by 2050, spur economic growth by increasing annual federal spending on climate initiatives to 2% of gross domestic product and create at least 10 million new jobs.

Senator Brian Schatz town meeting Mamiya Theatre gesture. 17 april 2017
Sen. Brian Schatz has become a leader on climate change in Washington, D.C. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

The report comes from the Senate Democrats鈥 Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which was created last year specifically to address the social, environmental and economic threats caused by a rise in global temperatures.

Schatz, who has made climate change a centerpiece of his political persona, is the chairman of the committee.

鈥淲e have come up short in terms of federal action on climate and it鈥檚 not because we didn鈥檛 have our facts straight, it鈥檚 not because the bills weren鈥檛 good enough, it鈥檚 because we didn鈥檛 do the political work of stitching together a political coalition across demographic, geographic and ideological boundaries,鈥 Schatz said during a press conference.

鈥淲e are going to be ready to roll if we are in charge of the United States Senate to pass big, bold climate legislation.鈥

The report released Tuesday is the culmination of a year鈥檚 worth of hearings that brought together , professional athletes from a range of sports including , and a who support conservation efforts to combat climate change.

鈥淥ur caucus from one end to the other is committed to strong and bold action on climate.” 鈥 Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Some of the topics tackled by the committee included the to shape and obfuscate the debate surrounding human impacts to global warming, the effect climate change is having on and the ways low-income communities of color are by rising temperatures and contaminated air, land and water.

One of the main goals of the committee report is to highlight not what climate change is 鈥渄oing to us,鈥 but what it can 鈥渄o for us鈥 in terms of job creation, energy independence and economic prosperity.

The plan comes on the heels of sweeping proposals put forth by House Democrats in June and former Vice President Joe Biden, who won the party鈥檚 nomination to take on Republican President Donald Trump in November.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said getting rid of the filibuster would be on the table if Democrats retake control of the Senate. Nick Grube/Civil Beat

While the details of the various proposals don鈥檛 match up precisely, Schatz downplayed the differences saying that the intent is clear 鈥斅燚emocrats have a plan when it comes to taking on climate change.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not the same, but they rhyme,鈥 Schatz said of the varying proposals. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e all describing the same big, bold enterprise in different ways.鈥

The obvious hurdle is Republican control of Washington. President Donald Trump is still in the White House and the Senate is the firm grip of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Even if former vice president Joe Biden wins in November and Democrats win back the Senate they likely won鈥檛 have the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster and pass meaningful legislation. When Schumer was asked whether he would consider getting rid of the filibuster if he became majority leader he said that all options were on the table.

鈥淥ur caucus from one end to the other is committed to strong and bold action on climate,鈥 Schumer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital for the country, it鈥檚 vital for the globe, it鈥檚 vital for the world, and so we are going to get that done.鈥

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse didn鈥檛 preclude a bipartisan approach to addressing climate change, noting that many Republicans in the past once considered it to the planet.

If Democrats can shed more light on the dark money that has manipulated the political discourse in Washington 鈥 something that is highlighted specifically in the report 鈥 he said it might free up some of his Republican colleagues to vote their conscience rather than remain beholden to the fossil fuel industry.

鈥淵ou give short shrift to the real problem when you say that it鈥檚 the Republicans,鈥 Whitehouse said. 鈥淚f we can be effective at taking on the fossil fuel disinformation and political muscle campaign, there will be willing Republicans once they鈥檙e free to move without threat of political retaliation.鈥

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