Washington, D.C. — Today the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released its 2022 National Environmental Scorecard at a virtual press conference with Chair Debbie Stabenow (MI), Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02), and Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14). The Scorecard has been the primary yardstick for evaluating the environmental records of members of Congress since 1970 and is available for download here, and online at scorecard.lcv.org.

WATCH: 2022 Scorecard Press Conference

2022 was the best year ever for climate action in Congress with the passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act that invests roughly $369 billion in advancing clean energy, creating good jobs, and fighting climate change and environmental injustice. The clean energy plan was finalized against a backdrop of devastating and costly climate-fueled extreme weather and oil and gas companies’ exploitation of Putin’s unlawful war on Ukraine.

LCV took the rare step of double scoring the vote on the Inflation Reduction Act because of its unprecedented importance and scope, and the resolve and leadership it required of Congressional champions, the Biden-Harris administration, and a broad coalition of advocates. Every Democrat in the House and Senate came together to make the country’s first transformational climate law a reality. Unfortunately, not a single Republican voted for the popular, affordable clean energy plan.

“What a year of historic progress! In 2022, pro-environment majorities in the House and Senate showed the world what’s possible when leaders are committed to delivering the action on climate, clean energy, jobs and justice voters demand,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “In a year that saw more suffering from the climate crisis and more pain at the pump as oil and gas companies raised energy costs, environmental champions in Congress took transformative climate action to begin to insulate the U.S. from volatile fossil fuel prices and build an affordable clean energy future. This year, we are all in to support the swift, effective, and equitable implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, work with champions in Congress to continue to fight for popular action on climate and environmental justice and block attempts to roll back environmental safeguards,  and support the Biden-Harris administration’s finalization of critical health and climate protections across the agencies.”

“Last year, Democrats passed the strongest climate bill ever and our actions are already having an impact in Michigan!” said Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow. “The League of Conservation Voters has been an important partner and instrumental advocate in passing this historic climate action legislation. As we look toward the future, they will continue to be a strong champion for our environment and help us meet the serious challenges ahead.”

“It’s a historic year to be recognized as an LCV Climate Champion – historic for the planet and the health and security of future generations,” said Representative Kathy Castor. “Thanks to the work of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Congressional Democrats, and the Biden Administration, we enacted legislation to create good-paying local jobs, slash energy bills, bolster domestic manufacturing, uplift disadvantaged communities, and position America to lead the world in the emerging clean economy. Now, we are hard at work in communities across America cutting costs and cutting pollution. While it’s disappointing that the Republicans in Congress disbanded the Climate Committee, we will not be daunted. Our work on ambitious climate action is just getting started.”

“2022 was a historic year for climate action,” said Representative Joe Neguse. “The Inflation Reduction Act made major investments in families and communities across our country, lowering health care costs, fighting inflation, and of course, making a tremendous step forward in the fight against the climate crisis. But our work doesn’t stop here. We will work to build on this progress to implement the laws that we passed in the last Congress and to continue delivering for our country and our planet. I am very grateful to LCV and to the many thousands of partners across the country whose advocacy made these climate investments possible and looking forward to the work ahead.”

The 2022 Scorecard includes dozens of votes on other impactful climate and environmental bills, as well as a number of votes in both chambers on legislation that would strengthen democracy including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the DISCLOSE Act. To safeguard equity, LCV’s 2022 Scorecard included votes in both chambers to protect same-sex and interracial marriages as well as reproductive rights. In total, the Scorecard includes 23 votes in the Senate and 19 votes in the House, with the vote on the Inflation Reduction Act counting twice in both chambers. Across both chambers, Democrats scored an average of 96% and Republicans scored an average of 6% on the 2022 Scorecard.

For the first time this year, the Scorecard includes a new section highlighting the high-scoring leadership of the Tri-Caucus. Leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) scored an average 98% on the 2022 Scorecard and were instrumental to passing bold, pro-environment legislation, championed strong pro-democracy policies, and worked to address environmental injustice. The Scorecard also includes a tribute to the late Representative Donald McEachin – a tireless champion for climate and environmental justice.

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