President Joe Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The sweeping $750 billion legislation includes $369 billion in investments toward climate and clean energy programs. Following months of infighting, House and Senate Democrats passed the bill along party lines last week after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia struck a compromise deal on Biden’s Build Better Back framework. According to one estimate by Princeton University’s Zero Lab, the bill could reduce US greenhouse emissions by about 6.3 billion tons through 2032. The $369 billion set aside by the bill represents the most significant investment to combat climate change in US history.
“This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever, and it’s going to allow us to boldly take additional steps toward meeting all of the climate goals we set out when we ran,” Biden said before signing the bill. “It includes ensuring that we create clean energy opportunities in frontline and fenceline communities that have been smothered by the legacy of population and fight environmental injustice that has been going on for so long.”
With the law now in place, US consumers can look forward to up to $7,500 in subsidies for electric SUVs, trucks and vans that cost less than $80,000 and cars under $55,000. The act is also set to provide up to $4,000 for buying a used EV. Both subsidies include an income ceiling that would prevent those who make more than the average American from taking advantage. The law also calls for the creation of a $1.5 billion program to incentivize companies to reduce their methane emissions.
