BIG NEWS: Inflation Reduction Act Delivers Opportunities for Climate Action
Yesterday, the United States Senate passed historic climate legislation–the single biggest investment in climate, justice, clean energy, and jobs, ever! The Inflation Reduction Act will deliver $369 billion in climate and energy investments and incentives designed to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions drastically. The incentives for building electrification, renewable energy, and electric vehicle purchases will accelerate opportunities for households and businesses to make their own impact on climate change. The legislation appropriately prioritizes spending to aid low to moderate-income households, while making deeper investments in emissions reduction technologies in disadvantaged communities.
These measures are long overdue, and the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) is celebrating this commitment to action by federal decision-makers.
“The Community Climate Collaborative will be supporting households, businesses, and local governments to ensure that they are able to take advantage of opportunities presented by this important legislation,” said C3’s Executive Director, Susan Kruse. “After decades of inaction by Congress, the passage of this bill is welcome news.”
Read more about the details from our friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Unfortunately, several compromises were made to reach the 51 votes required to pass this legislation. Most notably, the bill eases federal permitting rules for oil and gas infrastructure on federal lands. This is a massive blow for those who have been working tirelessly to defeat the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would lock our region into costly fossil-fuel infrastructure. Local action and advocacy will remain essential to prevent this from happening.
To get involved with efforts to prevent the Mountain Valley Pipeline, check out:
Southern Environmental Law Center
To reduce local consumption of methane gas, check out:
C3’s Make Your Own Impact Campaign
We commend the Senate for passing this bill and look forward to the final House vote and the President signing it into law. C3 will continue our work at the community level to ensure sustained progress towards an equitable, clean energy future.