Mobilizing Our Nation's Resources to Solve the Climate Crisis

Climate Change

To anyone who denies the reality of climate change, Max urges them to come and visit Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, where you can still see some of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath.

Max believes that a carbon-free economy must be our North Star. One of the main ways we can reduce pollution and mitigate climate change is to move to a carbon-neutral economy by the year 2040, a goal Max strongly supports. To do so, we need a breakthrough in battery technology to store the renewable energy from solar, wind, and other sources so that we can meet our energy needs while finally moving off fossil fuels. He was a leading voice in congress for America to launch an Apollo Project for batteries and was a proud cosponsor of the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act, which directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a “Moon-Shot” Initiative and create pilot projects of grid-scale battery storage technologies to meet aggressive targets for cost, performance, and durability. Max is also a supporter of the continued infrastructure investments and tax policy changes required for a transition away from fossil fuels that does not inflict economic pain on the middle class, but rather reduces their energy bills.

Max understands that climate change is a national security threat, which will endanger military bases on coasts and remote areas, and lead to wars over water and other catastrophic potential events. Additionally Max cosponsored the Climate Change National Security Act, which requires the federal government to account for climate change in national security planning as a new and growing threat.

Max knows that the next Hurricane Sandy is not an if but when. As Congressman, Max cut through years of red tape to finally get lifted a restrictive easement to allow construction of the East Shore Seawall, which will serve as a life-saving barrier from devastating destruction from rising waters and future hurricanes caused by climate change. We also need to continue to invest in climate resiliency by making significant investments in modernizing our sewer system here on Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, where Hurricane Ida revealed yet again that we have significant vulnerabilities to significant weather events.

Clean Environment

Max will always fight for clear air and clean water - because protecting the environment is essential to our health. Our community has been the victim of polluters and climate change throughout its modern history. For instance, In 2021 as in years past, Staten Island received an "F" in ozone pollution on the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report. Our district has unusually high rates of asthma, breast cancer, and autism and it is impossible not to acknowledge environmental factors as a cause. The most common Staten Island cancer conditions also consistently rank in the Top 15 cancers caused by 9/11 toxins exposure, according to the World Trade Center Health Program. Max helped lead the charge in Congress to permanently reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund so that all of our first responders get the care they need.