Category: CALIFORNIA_NEWS Drought_CN Inflation_Act_2022_States

The Biden administration has announced a plan to provide $250 million to accelerate environmental projects around the shrinking Salton Sea, a major commitment intended to help revitalize the lake’s ecosystems and control hazardous dust in a deal that clears the way for California to take less water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River.

Democrats pushed through climate change legislation this year that earmarked tens of billions of dollars to create a U.S. supply chain for electric vehicles. Republicans and the states they represent are poised to cash in on much of the political and economic windfall.

Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act — hailed by environmentalists as the most ambitious climate legislation ever enacted — might seem like a slap in the face to a state like Texas where pumpjacks and drilling rigs have long since replaced Stetsons and Longhorns as symbols of its economic muscle. The Lone Star state is a snarl of pipelines and production facilities with knots of refineries and chemical depots and canals carved into the coastline to connect tank farms to oil tankers. But few Americans realize that hidden behind the image of gas flares and Texas tea is the reality that the state has also built the largest wind and solar grid in the United States. As such, Texas is positioned to reap a huge windfall in federal tax credits, grants and rebates under the energy and climate provisions of the IRA which total roughly $370 billion.

The most ambitious climate bill in history has the potential to accelerate Pennsylvania’s transition to a green economy or keep it tied to fossil fuel production, depending on shifting political dynamics and the influence of long-entrenched oil and gas companies.

Labor-friendly provisions in the federal Inflation Reduction Act could help boost California’s transition away from fossil fuels by appealing to a persistent stumbling block: unions representing fossil fuel workers.

While President Joe Biden’s $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aims to address a cornucopia of American ills, arguably its most important aspect is how it jump-starts the country’s fight against climate change. It attacks the country’s carbon emissions from both ends — consumption and production — with one primary tool: money. A lot of money: $369 billion, to be exact, much of that devoted to helping people, companies and government agencies buy more things that create less carbon pollution. That has many activists hailing the bill as a historic step forward on climate action, but not everyone is sold on the strategy.

Hailed by President Biden as “the most aggressive action ever to combat the climate crisis,” the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) commits $369 billion to clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction. But the IRA’s progress towards its ambitious goals and the larger fight to stave off the worst effects of climate change depends largely on its impact in key fossil fuel-producing states.

Democrats’ climate and tax law will send billions in clean energy investment to states and districts controlled by Republicans who voted against it, a dynamic that could further shake up the politics of the energy transition over the coming decade.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden this month, offers some $260 billion in clean energy tax incentives overall, including long-term extensions and expansions of renewable credits and new subsidies for manufacturing.

There has been lots of talk about federal climate action. Don’t sleep on state climate action. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard politicians and journalists talking about how the Inflation Reduction Act will advance the federal government’s fight against climate change.

Overall, the bill has been lauded by climate groups, but it does contain some concessions to the fossil fuel industry to secure Senator Manchin’s support. Additionally, Senator Schumer made a promise for future legislation that will speed the permitting process for energy infrastructure projects, including natural gas pipelines.