Congressional and community leaders gathered at the White House today to celebrate a major achievement in federal climate policy: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The new law includes hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of investments in building clean energy infrastructure, improving the resilience of our forests and farms and taking steps toward environmental justice.
President Biden thanked “so many determined advocates and activists across the country” for helping to make the IRA happen during a White House event on September 13.
It invests deeply in making climate-friendly choices more affordable for families across the country, with rebates and tax credits for more energy-efficient appliances and repairs, home and community solar, and more.
As we shared here when the bill passed the House in August, the IRA puts the U.S. much closer to fulfilling our Paris Agreement commitment of halving emissions by 2030: the funding and programs laid out in the legislation put us on track to cut emissions by about 40% in the next eight years.
The IRA includes funding to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country. Oregon Department of Transportation photo.
WATCH: Our state director, Mike Stevens, spoke to a reporter at KING5 News about what the passage of the IRA means for climate action.
The IRA is a compromise agreement based on policies set forth in the Build Back Better Act, which passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate. And though it will take more work to achieve our climate goals and meet our Paris commitments, the IRA is a huge step forward. Taken together with Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, Clean Fuel Standard and other new state laws, the IRA’s passage signals a major advancement for climate action—both nationally and here at home.
The IRA’s investments in clean energy infrastructure could transform our economy. Photo by Courtney Baxter.
Green jobs for a healthier future
The IRA funds a wide range of programs and incentives to accelerate renewable energy development and decarbonize buildings and transportation. Together, these investments could transform the American economy, helping to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in sectors like energy, agriculture, forestry, transportation and construction. That will mean more than 10,000 jobs per year in Washington over the next decade, and an estimated $9 billion dollars in value for our state’s economy.
Supporting Farms and Forests
The IRA includes a $700 million investment in the Forest Legacy Program, giving a big boost to this program which has protected more than 62,000 acres of forest land in Washington state over the past 30 years.
Washington farmers implementing climate-smart agricultural practices through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and other voluntary programs will be eligible for billions of dollars in additional funding through the IRA. The law also provides major funding for agricultural education and technical and financial assistance for beginning and historically under-served farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.
Climate-friendly farming receives a boost in the IRA, with billions of dollars in additional funding for voluntary stewardship programs. Photo of Skagit Delta farmer Alan Messman by Bridget Besaw.
Nature is a Climate Solution
Our Director of North America Policy and Government Relations, Tom Cors, spoke to a reporter from The Washington Post about the IRA’s investments in nature and how they can help us address the climate crisis. See what he had to say.
Members of Washington’s rural electric cooperatives will be eligible for direct clean-energy tax credits and additional efficiency upgrades. Producers of biofuels — already anticipating increased demand thanks to the new state law passed last year — may benefit from grant funding to support the production, storage and distribution of cleaner fuels.
The IRA also invests in climate-smart forestry in federal and community forests and urban areas. It includes support for improving wildfire resilience across the country, with much-needed funding for hazardous fuel reduction in National Forests.
Improving Environmental Justice Outcomes
Communities bearing a disproportionate share of the health and economic burdens that come with pollution receive special attention and funding in the IRA’s efforts to improve air quality. Block grants and transit investments will prioritize emissions reduction and air quality improvements in overburdened communities. Here in Washington, these investments will complement the new air quality program created by the Climate Commitment Act.
We’re excited to learn more about how nature and people will benefit from the new law, and to be part of implementing game-changing programs on the ground in Washington’s forests, cities, farmlands, estuaries and beyond.
Banner photo by Richard Hamilton Smith.
