Local leaders and climate activists, pointing to devastation caused by the recent Marshall fire, called on the U.S. Senate on Friday to take immediate action to mitigate the climate crisis by passing President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act. 

They spoke during a virtual press conference sponsored by Moms Clean Air Force that came in the wake of Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia calling the bill “dead”  this week. Former Colorado House majority leader and CU Law adjunct faculty member Alice Madden said if the act isn’t passed, every American is at risk.

“The climate emergency puts us all at risk, which is why the investment and the job-creating solutions found in the Build Back Better Act is the Senate’s morale imperative,” Madden said. “The longer they wait, the more lives (are) in jeopardy.”

The climate portion within Biden’s legislation represents the largest-ever federal investment in clean energy and would assist the U.S. in getting halfway to meeting the administration’s pledge to curb emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2023, according to a nonpartisan analysis firm Rhodium Group.

If passed, the bill would add nearly 66,500 jobs in Colorado between now and 2027, in addition to reducing carbon emissions, officials said. 

Many of the speakers on Friday morning said without the bill passing, more climate disasters such as the Marshall fire, the state’s most destructive wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes in late December, would continue to wreak havoc across the country and world.

Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann opened up about her experience on Dec. 30 — the day the fire ignited — and said despite the city and its residents’ efforts to cut carbon emissions by having 100% carbon free electricity in their municipal buildings and a net zero building code, they cannot combat the climate crisis alone, she said. 

“The Marshall fire and its impact on our community was a grave reminder that the climate crisis is here and it’s making more wildfires across the state more frequent and destructive,” Stolzmann said. ” … Our communities need your help and we need the Senate to pass this act so we can have investments to reduce carbon emission in the country.”

Since the turn of the century, the state’s wildfires have become more frequent and destructive as the state’s 20 largest fires by acreage have all happened over the last 20 years, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock shared a similar sentiment with Madden and Stolzmann about how critical it is that the bill is passed and emphasized the impact its passing would have on communities of color in Denver and across the country.

“This is about equity in our low income communities, in particular, many of them are communities of color,” Hancock said. “This will help to improve their outcomes, reducing health impacts like increase asthma rates and reduce health related costs, (these communities) often times struggle to afford.”

Last summer, Denver’s air quality was ranked among the worst in the world and was even considered the worst on Aug. 7. Because of this, Hancock says its even more vital to pass this bill to try and revert these trends.

“There’s nothing more important than helping President Biden achieve his goals of passing the Build Back Better plan and bring in a really audacious effort to the climate action challenges we have,” he said.