The Inflation Reduction Act will make US inaction to reduce Global Warming a thing of the past.
The announcement Wednesday of an agreement in the Senate almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.
By Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer
WASHINGTON — The $369 billion climate and tax package forged in a surprise deal by Senate Democrats would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to try to stop the planet from catastrophically overheating.
The agreement, which Senate Democrats announced late Wednesday and hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.
The bill aims to tackle global warming by using billions of dollars in tax incentives to ramp up wind, solar, geothermal, battery and other clean energy industries over the next decade. Companies would receive financial incentives to keep open nuclear plants that might have closed, or to capture emissions from industrial facilities and bury them underground before they can warm the planet. Car buyers with incomes below a certain level would receive a $7,500 tax credit to purchase a new electric vehicle and $4,000 for a used one. Americans would receive rebates to install heat pumps and make their homes more energy-efficient.
Diplomats and climate experts said they hoped the deal would revitalize international efforts to tackle global warming, which have flagged in recent months as the war in Ukraine and surging oil prices have led many countries to focus on shoring up fossil fuel supplies. The world’s governments are far from doing what they must to meet the target of 1.5 degrees, and leaders are scheduled to meet in Egypt in November to discuss stepping up their efforts.
Senate Democrats estimated that the legislation would enable the United States to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, putting the nation within striking distance of the aggressive climate goals laid out by Mr. Biden last year.
The most immediate effect of the bill, energy experts said, will be to supercharge the growth of wind turbine, solar panel and electric vehicle production in the United States. Renewable energy production has slowed significantly this year, due to pandemic-related disruptions, trade disputes and uncertainty about federal policy, according to a recent report by the American Clean Power Association, which represents wind and solar energy companies and battery manufacturers.
If Governor Inslee likes the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act then it is good enough for me.