THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: A CALL TO ACTION FROM PHYLLIS CUTTINO
This blog is a word-for-word email sent by Phyllis Cuttino to Climate Reality Leaders. We are reposting on our website to share with the Bay Area community.
Dear Friends,
As we begin a momentous week for our movement, I want to take the opportunity to step back and reflect on what's at stake and how we got here.
By now, we've all read and heard a lot about the agreement that the Majority Leader Schumer reached with WV Senator Joe Manchin on a budget reconciliation package known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Critically, the bill includes more than $360 billion in climate and environmental justice investments.
While hurdles remain, if passed, this historic measure would be the nation's single largest investment in climate action ever. It could also cut US emissions 40% by 2030, and, with further state, local and regulatory action, set us on a path to meet President Biden’s goal of cutting emissions by more than 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
The IRA must pass. As the impacts of warming become ever more catastrophic, this is a critical step that will transform the electricity, transportation, housing, industrial, agricultural, and financial sectors. Just as important, it will make life better for millions across the country, not only fighting global warming, but also cutting energy bills, cleaning up our air and communities, and creating jobs from coast to coast.
Getting Congress to the verge of voting on the most ambitious climate bill in US history didn't happen by accident or overnight. It happened because friends and supporters like you joined us and allies throughout the climate and environmental justice movement in working for years and even decades to mobilize activists and communities, change the narrative, and push for bold policies to meet this moment.
To understand just how far we've come, after Vice President Gore appeared on media outlets like This Week recently urging action on climate, media commentary noted that he’d appeared on Meet the Press 30 years ago with a similar message. Then, he spoke as a voice in the wilderness. Today, he speaks for millions, as even President Biden noted, hailing Vice President Gore as one of the most important voices on the issue.
The IRA isn’t perfect. There were painful concessions for offshore drilling and other fossil fuel support to make the agreement possible. But it represents a truly historic accomplishment that – if passed – will be pivotal in stopping global warming and creating a better future for all of us. We’ve worked and fought so hard to get here.
What's in the bill?
Naturally, a bill this big has many parts. Here are what we see as some of the highlights and how they can revolutionize how we generate and use energy in the US.
Clean Energy Finance: Provides $27 billion for a national climate bank and state and local green banks, with at least 60% of funds going to clean energy financing in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Renewable Energy: 10 years of tax credits to help developers build the solar, wind, and other clean energy facilities we need to quickly transition away from oil, coal, and gas.
Clean Transportation: Rebates to help low and middle-income families swap polluting gas-powered cars and trucks for clean and reliable electric vehicles, with up to $7,500 for a new vehicle and $4,000 for a pre-owned one.
Green Jobs: Billions in grants and loans to help convert existing auto manufacturing facilities and build new plants to make electric vehicles. Plus, another $500 million to produce electric heat pumps and and other vital solutions technology here in the US. That's going to help put thousands and thousands to work.
Environmental Justice: Billions in grants to tackle environmental health problems and clean up the air in frontline communities living near highways, ports, and other polluting facilities.
Electrifying Homes: Billions in rebates to help families replace dirty, gas-powered appliances with climate-friendly heat pumps and other technologies. Billions more to help families retrofit and weatherize their homes to be as energy efficient as possible and save big on electric bills.
There's more, and to see all the details, the Washington Post has a good rundown.
The U.S. bill that's not just about the U.S.
Passing the IRA will have truly global implications. Last year, President Biden committed the US to cutting emissions 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030 as part of the Paris Agreement. It's what the science tells us we need to do to hold warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and averting the worst of climate change.
The IRA doesn't get us all the way there, but it's a massive step. With executive actions from the president joining aggressive city and state moves and support from the increasingly innovative business community, there's every reason to believe we can close the remaining 10-12% gap.
These numbers send a message. When the US checks out on climate action - as we saw during the Trump Administration - it gives other nations like Brazil license to check out too. Passing the IRA tells the world that the US is back as a global leader on climate. Which gives us the credibility to go to the UN's COP 27 climate talks in November and push other nations to pass stronger and stronger climate policies too.
This couldn’t come at a more important time. In Australia, a pro-climate government has just taken office. Brazil could open a new era of possibility for a nation entrusted with the planet’s greatest carbon sink. With the EU also adding a strong NDC, this is our moment to turn promises into action and create real momentum on the global stage.
This doesn't happen without you
Congress may ultimately get the credit, but this bill simply wouldn't have happened without the tireless – and I mean tireless – work of our friends and supporters like you.
Since early 2021, Climate Reality Leaders and chapter members working with the Our Climate Moment campaign have held nearly 150 meetings with legislators pushing for a bold climate bill like the IRA.
Plus, since last year, Climate Reality activists have sent an amazing 460,000-plus messages to federal law and policymakers calling for aggressive climate action. The result has been a relentless drumbeat and a clear choice for lawmakers who know exactly where their constituents stand and what they want.
Which is to say, that as you read this email and hear about the bill, step back for a moment and feel proud of what you helped make happen. Real proud.
Where do we go from here?
We are inches from the finish line, but we're not there yet. The bill still has to go through several steps before becoming law and some senators have yet to announce their support. Without all 50 Democratic votes, the bill will not pass the Senate, leaving us no margin for error. Additionally, in the House, several Democratic representatives have not yet signaled support.
So, what do we do? We keep fighting until the bill is on the president's desk.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer aims for a vote this week. To continue pressure on all the legislators we need, we'll be holding a national call night on Zoom on Tuesday for activists to collectively call and write their representatives and senators demanding their support for the bill. We'll also be holding targeted calls on Wednesday for New Jersey and Arizona residents to contact their legislators.
In addition, we're also launching a new digital action to enable supporters to quickly and easily send a message to their members of Congress calling for them to vote for the IRA. (And if you're ready to do your part, click here to join this action and contact your representative and senators.)
Let's make history
If you take away anything from all the coverage and discussion of the IRA, let it be this:
This is the moment we've been waiting for. Passing the IRA will be a huge win for both the climate and millions of Americans.
The bill has to pass. I want to thank you again for everything you've done to help us get here. We simply wouldn't have this opportunity without friends and supporters like you.
Let’s get this done. Contact your members of Congress today to demand they vote for the IRA. Ask your friends, your family members, your colleagues and neighbors to do the same. Because what hangs on this bill passing is everything.
Thank you for everything you do for our climate.
Phyllis Cuttino
President & CEO
The Climate Reality Project