DNC to reject fossil fuel company donations

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) will no longer accept campaign donations from fossil fuel companies.

The DNC’s resolution, first introduced by Christine Pelosi, a member of the committee and the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was introduced as a way to connect with grass-roots voters and emphasize the party’s stance on environmentalism.

{mosads}”Climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels represents an existential threat to civilization, and Democrats committed in our 2016 Platform to curbing the effects of climate change, protecting America’s natural resources, and ensuring the quality of our air, water, and land for current and future generations,” read the text of the resolution, which passed over the weekend and was provided to The Hill by the DNC.

The decision follows in the footsteps of a previous one made under former President Obama to ban all corporate PAC donations to the DNC. 

“Fossil fuel corporations are drowning our democracy in a tidal wave of dark oily money; they have deceived the public about the impacts of climate change, fought the growth of clean renewable energy, and corrupted our political system,” the resolution reads.

The ban will affect donations from oil, gas and coal companies but does not address donations from their competing renewable energy industries, a decision likely to draw scrutiny. 

The text of the resolution calls the decision by the DNC a way to “empower Democrats to walk our talk in harmony with our stated beliefs and convictions.”

The vote comes as the U.S. energy industry is finding itself increasingly split as certain sources — namely coal and nuclear — weather hard economic times but find vocal support from the Trump administration.

Earlier this month, President Trump ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take “immediate steps” to prevent further closures of coal and nuclear power plants as the industry increasingly shifts toward clean and renewable fuel.