Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer participated in the final vote, calling the law "the worst in U.S. history." "The most audacious climate package."
"This will usher in an era of affordable clean energy in America. It's a game changer, a turning point, and something we've been waiting for a long time," he said. Told.
Although the climate portion of the bill was well below the $550 billion originally envisioned a year ago as part of the broader $2.2 trillion bill, it remains the largest in U.S. history. of investments in clean energy sources - about 4
The decline was driven by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin's inflation concerns, which he simply acquiesced. was. The bill enacted last month after closed-door negotiations with Schumer and assurances from leading economists, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, that it would not exacerbate the economic woes of Americans. And while Manchin won the addition of language linking measures to help boost oil and gas production to some of the clean energy incentives to irritate environmentalists, it's not enough to garner support for the bill. was.
The House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill later this week. Its climate measures include expanding wind and solar production, bringing electric vehicles closer to the economic reach of more Americans, and helping oil companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions if they fail to do so. billions of dollars to make available $1.5 billion to penalize It will also help develop technologies such as carbon dioxide capture and sequestration, hydrogen, and small nuclear reactors. These technologies are needed for the U.S. to get her net-zero carbon footprint by 2050, experts say. He will spend $4 billion to address impending disaster in the Southwest as climate change-induced drought threatens power and water supplies for his 40 million people along the Colorado River. It's a schedule.
The bill would also put the United States, the world's second-largest carbon emitter after China, at the forefront of countries taking concrete action to combat climate change. right. World leader in battle.
"This is a breakthrough," said Gregory Wetstone, chairman and CEO of the US Renewable Energy Council, in an interview. “In the U.S., no policy has actually been aimed at driving the clean energy transition and addressing the climate crisis, and we are now looking at ways we can meet that challenge.
The new and expanded tax credits for low-carbon technologies will remain on the books for 10 years, providing certainty to clean energy developers who have faced periodic lapses in incentives.
Overall, the bill would more than triple India's clean power production. help you to Up to 550 gigawatts of power will be added from wind, solar and other clean sources, according to an analysis by the American Clean Power Association. That's enough to power 110 million homes, according to industry groups.
Analysis by Rhodium Group, an energy and climate analysis firm, shows that the bill will reduce the country's net It is estimated to reduce effect gas emissions by 31-44% from 2005 levels.
Combined with last year's bipartisan infrastructure package, US climate spending is poised to match the EU's climate budget, said Kate, who heads international energy and climate research at Rhodium. Larsen said.
“The question is not that all countries are exactly on a straight line to reach their 2030 emission reduction targets, but we should make sure that it is possible. Are you introducing policies to get the ball rolling for?" Larsen said in an interview. "With the passage of this bill, I can assure you that we are on track to meet these goals."
Founder of the liberal Center for American Progress, Obama John Podesta, who served in both the administration and the Clinton administration, said in a statement that the bill "will trigger a tsunami of investment, job creation in America, and innovation." If history judges, it is likely to result in even greater emissions reductions than models suggest.
This bill would dramatically reshape parts of the U.S. economy because it would help create new jobs in the green energy and carbon reduction sectors, said the nonpartisan energy and climate sector. said Robbie Orvis, senior director of energy policy design at Energy Innovation. policy think tank.
"This is a kind of industrial bill disguised as an energy and climate bill," Orbis said. "There is a lot in the bill to bring clean energy manufacturing back to America and grow the industry, and that's where the world is headed."
"This is about people It's going to be bigger than people realize," Congressman Ro Khanna (Democrat, California) said in an interview. “Government investment of $300 billion in solar, wind, batteries and heat pumps could bring in trillions of dollars in private sector investment in climate.”
Some of the proposed bill's measures were criticized by some Democrats. This includes a requirement that ties offshore wind development to an obligation for the federal government to pre-lease and sell at least 60 million acres of federal waters for oil and gas production, as well as a requirement by critics to build a $7,500 new car. It included domestic content requirements for electric vehicles. There is no credit for EVs currently on the market. Critics such as SenatorBernie Sanderssay these measures are weakening the effectiveness of climate action.
Republicans challenged Democrats' claims that the bill would curb inflation, instead attacking the tax included in the bill as increasing costs to US oil and gas production.
"He one of their problems is that inflation is an imminent problem," Rep. Kevin Cramer (Republican, N.D.) said in an interview. rice field. “Even if their theory goes on for a long time, this bill will be deflationary. Elections are in three months and inflation is very bad. prices, and taxes will rise in the short term.”
Republicans reinstated so-called superfund tax on crude oil and imported petroleum products to fund cleanup of polluted industrial sites. It points out the provisions of the bill that allow
The bill adds a new dimension to the efforts of Biden and US Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry to put the US at the forefront of the global effort to combat climate change. It adds trust. Even as historic droughts deplete water supplies in the West, wildfires scorch millions of acres, and devastating floods kill dozens in Kentucky, the U.S. is serious about Europe's efforts. It was considered in danger of falling behind.
Now, at least in the short term, the tables are reversed. Europe finds it harder to live up to hawkish rhetoric on climate change amid the Russian land war, leaving the region increasingly dependent on fossil fuels, mostly imported from Russia. United States.
Nat Keohane, president of the climate protection group C2ES, said the United States and other countries were struggling to meet emissions pledges made at the United Nations COP 26 conference in Glasgow last November. I pointed out that Paris Climate Agreement.
There Biden declared that the United States would take a leading role in the fight against climate change after his four years of dodging the issue under former President Donald Trump. Implement policies that produce emission reductions.
"If the United States failed to do this, it would have real ramifications," Kohane said. "I don't know if we've been able to get back on track. The US staying in the game gives real power to the Paris Agreement model of setting targets, delivering on implementation and increasing ambition going forward.
Republicans had vowed to oppose the package, despite many of its provisions promising to send money and create jobs within the state. However, a series of amendments to the Energy Clause they submitted were all rejected in a Senate rama vote that lasted from Saturday night through Sunday afternoon.
The victory is a win for Biden and the Democrats, who face the daunting task of retaining the House and Senate in the November election amid decades of high inflation and low Biden approval ratings. brought at a critical time.
Democrats urged Manchin to back bill, bargaining for his voteincluded several "easter eggs" to benefit the fossil fuel industry124} Carbon capture technology that ExxonMobil, Chevron and others see as new business opportunities. The bill focuses on incentives for oil companies to build carbon capture and hydrogen businesses, but some environmental groups oppose it, arguing these technologies prolong the use of fossil fuels. is doing.
The bill also includes a fee of up to $1,500 per tonne for emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is the main component of natural gas. Many companies in the oil and gas industry have opposed the measure, but Democrats will try to ease it by giving companies the time and money to install equipment to monitor and reduce emissions. and
Progressive Democrats complained about the money that could be used to support fossil fuel companies, but eventually voted to hold their nose and approve.
"There is no reason to be a purist on this subject," said Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in an interview. "The only thing we should care about is how do we achieve the absolute maximum emission reductions given the current composition of Congress."
Inspired by Manchin Even with the trade-offs made, this bill would give the Democrats a victory as the crucial midterm elections loom.
"It changes the whole narrative about Congress," Schatz said. "We are now doing as well as any Congress in the last decade. This is a very strong set of studies and a good discussion of why we choose Democrats."
Zack Colman and Annie Snider contributed to this report.
