In the second year of his term, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, the most consequential environmental legislation in U.S. history. Passed in August 2022 through the reconciliation process, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote, the IRA invests nearly $370 billion to transition to a low-carbon economy. The law provides tax credits for electric cars and energy efficient homes while ramping up domestic green manufacturing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates the IRA can reduce economy-wide CO2 emissions by 35 to 43% by 2030 from 2005 levels. This puts us significantly closer to meeting our national commitment of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions 50-52 percent by 2030.
After two years, the IRA’s impact has been substantial. The nonpartisan group E2 has calculated that over 334 major clean energy projects have been announced across 40 states and Puerto Rico. These projects have the potential to create nearly 110,000 jobs and drive $126 in investments. The U.S. Department of Treasury announced that in 2023 more than 3.4 million American families saved $8.4 billion on clean energy and energy efficiency investments.
“We thought it would be a big step forward on clean energy, but honestly we never understood how quickly it would turn into a game changer,” said Gina McCarthy, Biden's ex-National Climate Advisor who served when the IRA was passed. “It’s flipped the climate conversation on its head. It’s been a remarkable success.”
The IRA and other key pieces of legislation passed under the Biden Administration, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, have led to a massive surge in clean energy growth and green manufacturing. In 2023, the U.S. installed a record-setting 31 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy capacity, representing a 55% jump from 2022. With the recent approval of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, a total of 10 commercial scale offshore energy projects have been approved under President Biden's watch. Clean energy jobs grew by 4.5% in 2023, nearly twice the national average.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that since President Biden took office, over $130 billion in U.S. battery manufacturing and supply chain investments have been announced, as well as over $40 billion in new U.S. electric vehicle component and assembly plant investments. What's more, there have been over $1.4 billion in new U.S. heat pumps and clean HVAC manufacturing announcements since 2021.
Key swing states in the 2024 elections have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of this landmark legislation. Recent research for The Guardian by Atlas Public Policy shows that $63 billion has been announced for new U.S. facilities that will build electric cars, batteries, and components for renewable energy will be going to 7 key swing states. Georgia ($19.9 billion), North Carolina ($16.4 billion), and Michigan ($13.3 billion) have been among the IRA's biggest beneficiaries.
That isn’t to say that the IRA has not had its setbacks. A recent analysis by the Financial Times found that $84 billion of IRA projects worth more than $100 million have been delayed for months or years, or even paused indefinitely. Although as The New Republic’s Kate Aronoff put it, “these sorts of growing pains aren’t all that unusual” for this type of industrial policy.
Kamala Harris has vowed to build on Biden’s climate policies that have been estimated to save 200,000 lives and will fast track the clean energy revolution. Although she has been vocal in touting the current boom in U.S. oil and gas production, her platform provides a stark contrast to the future of a second Donald Trump administration.
The first Trump term was an unmitigated disaster for the climate, with the nonpartisan Rhodium Group finding that Trump-era climate policies had the potential to add more than 1.8 gigatons of CO2-equivalent to the atmosphere by 2035, equal to nearly one-third of all U.S. emissions in 2019. Trump has vowed to rescind any unspent IRA funds and says he will end the “Green New Scam,” reversing critical momentum gained under the Biden Administration. The infamous Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation playbook for an incoming Republican administration, calls for repeal of the IRA.
The "drill, baby, drill." policies of a second Trump Administration would set the world on a crash course toward disaster, reversing the significant gains through the IRA and other key policies. On the other hand, the IRA is a foundational piece for the low-carbon future, and a Harris victory is essential for this historic piece of legislation to reach its full potential.
That isn’t to say that the IRA has not had its setbacks. A recent analysis by the Financial Times found that $84 billion of IRA projects worth more than $100 million have been delayed for months or years, or even paused indefinitely. Although as The New Republic’s Kate Aronoff put it, “these sorts of growing pains aren’t all that unusual” for this type of industrial policy.
Kamala Harris has vowed to build on Biden’s climate policies that have been estimated to save 200,000 lives and will fast track the clean energy revolution. Although she has been vocal in touting the current boom in U.S. oil and gas production, her platform provides a stark contrast to the future of a second Donald Trump administration.
The first Trump term was an unmitigated disaster for the climate, with the nonpartisan Rhodium Group finding that Trump-era climate policies had the potential to add more than 1.8 gigatons of CO2-equivalent to the atmosphere by 2035, equal to nearly one-third of all U.S. emissions in 2019. Trump has vowed to rescind any unspent IRA funds and says he will end the “Green New Scam,” reversing critical momentum gained under the Biden Administration. The infamous Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation playbook for an incoming Republican administration, calls for repeal of the IRA.
The "drill, baby, drill." policies of a second Trump Administration would set the world on a crash course toward disaster, reversing the significant gains through the IRA and other key policies. On the other hand, the IRA is a foundational piece for the low-carbon future, and a Harris victory is essential for this historic piece of legislation to reach its full potential.