Clean Air Council Applauds Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and its Historic Climate Package
PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 12, 2022)
This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to adopt the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a budget reconciliation bill that was approved by the U.S. Senate earlier this week. The bill, which contains $369 billion in climate and clean energy investments, and which preliminary modeling analysis shows will reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40% (from 2005 levels) by 2030, will now be sent to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Image from a preliminary report prepared by Princeton University’s REPEAT Project
Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Clean Air Council Executive Director and Chief Counsel, issued the following statement:
“After nearly two years of negotiations and stalemates, our country can take a deep breath, bask in this moment, and celebrate the fact that we finally have a historic climate bill that will move the country towards meaningful climate action. While no piece of legislation is perfect, the Inflation Reduction Act will make a historic $369 billion investment in climate change solutions, create millions of high-paying jobs in building America’s clean energy economy, and help prevent thousands of premature deaths by 2030. This bill is a game changer and a much-needed step in the right direction as most Americans are already facing the devastating impacts of climate change.”
“Especially critical for Pennsylvania, the nation’s second largest producer of fossil gas, the IRA will put a price on climate-warming methane pollution from the oil and gas industry, starting at $900 a ton in 2024 and increasing to $1,500 a ton for companies that fail to comply with EPA’s upcoming pollution standards for new and existing oil and gas facilities. This is an essential complementary tool for reducing methane emissions, which are already causing 30% of the global warming that we are experiencing today. We are also excited to see at least $60 billion of investments for programs prioritized by environmental justice communities and advocates.”
“Because this moment arrived after such long, difficult negotiations, we must also acknowledge this is a compromise bill. It does contain troubling giveaways to the fossil fuel industry and could threaten communities that have already suffered disproportionate impacts from fossil fuel pollution. Clean Air Council plans to closely analyze the forthcoming separate bill resulting from these negotiations that will deal with permit reforms. Still, even as the fight to protect against the worst impacts from climate change moves forward, we can breathe a well-deserved sigh of relief that the historic amount of good included in this bill far outweighs the bad. Today is a day to celebrate long-awaited federal climate action.”
