The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law two years ago this week.
In Pennsylvania, its effects so far include carbon reduction, job creation and support for disadvantaged communities. The law marks the largest clean energy investment in U.S. history, with more than $369 billion dedicated to fighting climate change and creating jobs.
Fred Quinn III, a borough council member in Swissvale, just east of Pittsburgh, said the legislation will generate more than 243,000 new jobs across Pennsylvania by 2030. He added the measure offers financial relief for households as well.
"The Inflation Reduction Act offers significant rebates for clean energy technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances," Quinn outlined. "For families in my community, this means substantial savings on energy bills. Imagine reducing your household's energy expenses by more than $1,800 annually."
Swissvale recently got its first electric vehicle charging station. The Inflation Reduction Act is a wide-ranging 10-year plan to encourage the adoption of more renewable energy sources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. From its inception, it has received criticism from the fossil-fuel industry and from those who say more accountability is needed to make sure the money is spent wisely.
Heidi Roddenberry, chair of the Roddenberry Foundation, which honors the legacy of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, said philanthropy can support innovative technologies to help achieve energy independence and infrastructure to get the state closer to its climate future.
"At the Roddenberry Foundation, we are about big, bold ideas, catalytic change and that we can do more together," Roddenberry asserted. "Helping us get to that optimistic future that Star Trek offered us, and having an infrastructure supporting an energy independence gets us closer to that goal."
Backers of the Inflation Reduction Act say it could yield more than $5 trillion in global economic benefits from reduced greenhouse gas pollution by 2050.
Disclosure: Elected Officials to Protect America contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
Lawmakers and climate change activists are speaking out against a rumored executive action by President Donald Trump to revoke tax-exempt statuses from climate nonprofits. One rumored change includes the removal of climate change from qualifying topics for the exemption.
Last Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump hinted environmental nonprofits could have their tax-exempt statuses scrutinized by the administration. Federal law currently bars a president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service to investigate specific tax-exempt organizations.
Ruth Ann Norton, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, said she found the rumored executive actions troubling.
"We should not be talking about removing tax-exempt status from the civic good that comes from the work of nonprofits to prevent environmental issues that impair and impact and are harmful on people's lives," Norton contended.
Climate nonprofits are not the only organizations in Trump's crosshairs. He has suggested Harvard University should lose its tax-exempt status over defying demands from the administration dealing with diversity, admissions processes and antisemitism.
Tax-exempt status allows organizations to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and not pay federal income tax.
Joelle Novey, director of the nonprofit Interfaith Power and Light in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, said the actions may target climate nonprofits first but all nonprofits are at risk.
"There is no attack on civil society groups in the United States that isn't an attack on every one of us who expresses who we are by forming, supporting, volunteering and taking action through nonprofit organizations," Novey argued.
A federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in climate and infrastructure funds previously targeted in an executive order on Trump's first day in office.
get more stories like this via email
As of today, Earth Day, more than 50 elected officials have signed a letter urging lawmakers to make oil and gas companies bear the cost of climate change.
The California Polluters Pay Superfund, which goes before the state Senate Judiciary Committee today, would assess a fee on large oil and gas companies to pay for programs that mitigate damage from climate change.
Ahmad Zahra, a council member in Fullerton, signed onto the letter sponsored by the group Elected Officials to Protect America.
"Throughout the years, these large oil companies were really not necessarily telling the truth about air pollution," Zahra pointed out. "Just like we've seen in oil spills and ground pollution, the responsible party has to pay for it."
The Western States Petroleum Association opposes the bill, saying it would lead to higher gas prices. The bill directs the California Environmental Protection Agency to determine how much climate change has cost the state from 1990 to 2024. Federal data show California has suffered 46 natural disasters linked to climate change since 1980, each resulting in more than $1 billion in losses, with $250 billion from the Los Angeles firestorm alone.
Marisol Rubio, a council member in San Ramon, said 40% of the funds would be directed to low-income communities most affected by fossil fuel pollution.
"Those funds can then be used to better manage and correct and abate the pollution that not only already exists but that will come inevitably in the future, until we are able to be independent of fossil fuels," Rubio explained.
Advocates said right now, everyday Californians foot the bill for climate change in the form of higher taxes, insurance rates and utility bills, as well as via medical expenses for pollution-related illness.
Disclosure: Elected Officials to Protect America contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
The "Make Polluters Pay Superfund" bill goes before the California Assembly Natural Resources Committee Monday.
The bill would direct the California Environmental Protection Agency to study how much climate change has cost the state between 1990 and 2024, and assess a one-time fee on oil and gas companies emitting more than 1 billion metric tons of emissions.
Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity in Los Angeles, explained the goal of the bill.
"These are companies that make billions of dollars in profits per day," Golden-Krasner pointed out. "This bill would take some of the burden off of taxpayers, and put it onto the people who caused the crisis."
Right now, taxpayers end up footing much of the bill to clean up after natural disasters like mega-fires and floods, made worse by climate change. The money would go into a fund for climate-related programs, including projects to promote energy efficiency, make infrastructure more resilient, create urban green spaces and restore wetlands. The Western States Petroleum Association is among opponents of the bill, saying it will raise fuel costs for consumers and businesses.
The State Building and Construction Trades Council also opposes the bill, saying it will cost jobs.
Asm. Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, a sponsor of the bill, argued the climate projects will create jobs and a one-time fee should not affect gas prices.
"These companies lied to the public for decades," Addis contended. "They knew that the pollution they were causing was creating climate damage, was leading to global warming. They hid that information, and it's time for them to be part of the solution."
The bill has already passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee in March and goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
get more stories like this via email