Dear John,
This is a moment we can look our kids and grandkids in the eye and celebrate.
After more than a year of intense talks and negotiation, Congress has officially passed the Inflation Reduction Act — a landmark bill that will invest $369 billion in climate and clean energy solutions.
With this critical investment, the U.S. is better prepared to address the growing threat climate change poses to everyone, especially the most vulnerable communities here and around the world. And it wouldn’t have been possible without your support.
Thanks to EDF Action members like you, we sent over 60,000 messages to Congress — by email, phone and even constituent meetings. Your donations gave us the resources we needed to keep up our work, even when the chips seemed to be down. Simply put, you raised your voice, and Congress listened.
Now President Biden is poised to sign the most ambitious piece of federal climate legislation in U.S. history into law, opening the door for:
- New tax incentives for new renewable energy and a 10-year extension of tax credits for wind and solar.
- Electric vehicles incentives, including a $7,500 rebate for new vehicles and a $4,500 tax credit for used ones. There's also $20 billion in loans to build new clean vehicle manufacturing facilities.
- A program to encourage the reduction of methane emissions from oil and gas production, accompanied by more than $1.5 billion for the EPA to provide technical support to companies to reduce these emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Leaks harm human health, waste energy and drive climate change.
- $20 billion for climate smart agriculture, which could include measures that reduce methane emissions from livestock, cut fertilizer needs and help lock carbon in the soil.
- $60 billion for environmental justice measures, including grants for community-led projects to fight pollution, equipment electrification at ports and cleaner school buses and garbage trucks.
There is a lot more work to do. And we will have a very busy year ahead as we work to implement this law and continue to push for climate progress at all levels of government.
But today, I hope you take a moment to celebrate this landmark progress you helped achieve. You and other determined members of the EDF Action community have shown resilience and strength when we’ve needed it most. Together we are a powerful force able to build a safer climate future.
Thank you for your leadership,
Wes Rogerson
Manager, Grassroots Organizing & Activism |
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