By Craig Hebrink
You’ve probably heard something about an agreement just reached between Democratic leadership and Joe Manchin on a climate bill. Or maybe you’ve just heard the name of the bill in the news (The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) and are wondering what’s it’s all about.
Well, it turns out this is a pretty big deal. The name might not give a clue, but this bill contains a ton of climate policy and programs. It’s far from perfect, and it does have some concessions to the fossil fuel industry, but overall, the consensus among climate experts is that it is a big step forward, probably the biggest we’ve ever seen. It puts us on the road to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Not enough, but substantial progress. It even includes $300B towards deficit reduction. And, it looks like it has a good chance of passing!
I’m not going to try to get into the details. There are many summaries and hot takes available on line. But I will recommend Amy Westervelt’s summary of the good and not-so-good things in the bill. Find it here:
Manchin’s Inflation Reduction Act: What’s Good and Bad for Climate
Weird coincidence: My power was out when the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was announced. By the time it came back on, Twitter was awash in takes on what Senator Joe Manchin’s proposal means for climate. Quick aside here, how annoying is the dude who shits on everyone else’s proposal
I know the news hasn’t been great lately, but maybe this news is a reason for some optimism?