How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Benefit the Environment

From Environment America (https://environmentamerica.org/):

The biggest investment in climate action in U.S. history is now law.¹

This win was decades in the making. You spoke up for our climate and made this victory possible.

The Inflation Reduction Act isn’t perfect; compromises rarely are. But despite its flaws, this climate bill will move us toward the transformation we need.

The law aims to put us on pace to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.² That’s a huge stride toward President Joe Biden’s goal to cut emissions in half. Here’s what the bill will accomplish to make that goal into reality:

New incentives will lower energy costs and help consumers buy energy-efficient and electric appliances, rooftop solar and electric vehicles.

To make our homes more energy efficient, the law creates home energy rebates and grants. Consumers can get up to $7,500 toward the cost of a new electric vehicle and $4,000 toward the cost of used electric vehicles. And for the next 10 years, consumers can get tax credits for rooftop solar, heat pumps, and electric HVAC and water heaters.

The law doesn’t just help all of us choose cleaner energy, vehicles and homes — it also incentivizes businesses to invest in more solar and wind energy, plus the battery backup needed to store energy when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. These larger energy projects can help us transition our country to 100% renewable energy.

This bill helps advance our campaign to electrify the Postal Service fleet. The U.S. Postal Service has hedged on replacing its aging, gas-guzzling fleet with electric vehicles. But this influx of federal dollars is the jolt of energy this independent agency needs to leave behind dirty, gas-powered mail trucks.

This investment will help bring electric mail trucks to every corner of our country.

Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas that has 83 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide.³ Methane gas frequently leaks from pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure. Climate-damaging methane gas pipeline leaks happen every 40 hours in the U.S.⁴

This law creates a new methane emissions reduction program that will help reduce the number of leaks and prevent this wasteful and unnecessary warming of our planet.

Letting trees grow is the best way to sustain our existing natural carbon sinks. Our country’s forests absorb more than 10% of annual U.S. global warming pollution.⁵ With forests disappearing and climate change accelerating, preserving existing trees is paramount. This law seeds the protection of America’s oldest and more irreplaceable forests.

Replacing all of America’s dirty diesel buses with clean electric buses would avoid an average of 7.3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.⁶ This funding will help school districts and transit agencies purchase electric buses. It can also be used for other heavy-duty electric vehicles like garbage trucks or street sweepers.

When you add up the benefits of these programs — and so many more — this law puts the U.S. on track to make meaningful reductions in planet-warming pollution.

But the law isn’t perfect. Congress gave too many subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, mandated new oil and gas leasing, and failed to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling. And, some members of Congress now want to make it easier to build pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.⁷ So while we celebrate this win, we’re gearing up for what comes next.

Tackling the greatest challenge facing our planet is not easy, but we’re making real progress, thanks to your support.

Today, we’re feeling hopeful that we can get global warming pollution under control. And tomorrow, we’re ready to keep pushing on to a zero-carbon future.

1. Lisa Frank, “Statement: Inflation Reduction Act could be a ‘game changer’ for climate and clean energy,” Environment America, July 28, 2022.
2. “H.R.5376 – Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” Congress.gov, last accessed August 15, 2022.
3. “Understanding global warming potentials,” Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed August 3, 2022.
4. Tony Dutzik, Abraham Scarr and Matt Casale, “Methane Gas Leaks,” Environment America Research & Policy Center, June 23, 2022.
5. “Executive order on strengthening the nation’s forests, communities, and local economies,” The White House, April 22, 2022.
6. Matt Casale and Brendan Mahoney, “Paying for Electric Buses,” Environment America Research & Policy Center, October 30, 2018.
7. Matthew Daly, “Surprise Senate vote would overturn Biden environmental rule,” Associated Press, August 4, 2022.