(Washington, D.C., Tuesday, August 23, 2022) – President Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law. The bill passed along party lines, and while many elected Republicans were vocal in their opposition, many young conservatives are happy to see progress on climate change – an issue that a majority of them think the government is doing too little to address.
The Act puts the U.S. on a path to at least 40% emissions reduction by 2030. Much of that investment is in the form of significant clean energy tax credits. Among many other measures, the legislation will “provide a range of incentives to consumers to relieve the high costs of energy and decrease utility bills,” which will directly help American households. The faster the U.S. can build a clean energy economy, the better − and average Americans need this support to get there. The legislation will place a fee on methane pollution, a potent greenhouse gas, which sets a precedent for pricing greenhouse gas emissions, validating pollution fees as a valuable tool to reduce emissions. It also includes measures for climate-smart agriculture, forest conservation, coastal habitats, funding for frontline communities, and more.
Hannah Rogers, one of CCL’s 2022 Conservative Outreach Fellows, discussed why she supports the slate of climate policies as well as what she hopes to see from conservative Congressional leadership in future climate action legislation.