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How the US Climate Bill is Supposed to Reduce Emissions
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The United States is one of the world’s biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and their efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change have been bleak in comparison to countries in the EU and other places in the world.
It’s difficult to manage the emissions of a country with over 330 million people, but the U.S. has recently proved that it isn’t impossible – as the Biden administration recently passed a new climate bill that provides a historic amount of funding to help the U.S. join the net-zero movement to reduce emissions by 2050.
How is this new climate bill supposed to reduce emissions? Does it actually hold the opportunity to prove itself successful?
What exactly is this new climate bill?
Previously proposed by Biden as the “Build Back Better” bill, the new climate bill, called the “Inflation Reduction Agreement 2022” offers 369 billion dollars, to reduce emissions and combat climate change – making it the bill to provide more funding to reduce emissions in the United States than ever before.
This new climate bill tackles ways to reduce emissions from every angle. For example, the bill is motivated to encourage methane penalty by implementing a $900 fee for exceeding the federal limit until 2024 – and increasing this fee to $1,500 by 2026.
Also, those who choose to install a carbon capture and storage systems will be granted a tax credit.
The new climate bill also provides funding to install multiple renewable energy sources, like solar panels and wind turbines, and provide tax credits to those who choose to do so.
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This new climate bill also allows Americans to receive a rebate if they install energy efficient appliances in their homes. A whopping 60 billion dollars will be provided to communities that need financial assistance to join the net-zero movement, and will help them improve carbon emitting sources of activity such as transportation and infrastructure to reduce emissions.
Even car companies will be eligible for tax credits if they opt to produce more electric cars and implement the use of renewable energy sources, and in addition – Americans who buy an electric car or a gas powered vehicle will earn a tax credit as well.
Basically, this new climate bill is unlike anything any administration in the U.S. has ever seen before – and appears to be the first solid effort the country is making to reduce emissions.
Why is it important that the U.S. strives to reduce emissions?
The U.S. hasn’t been on the world’s good side with a lot of things lately, one of the biggest matters being climate change and their lack of intrinsic motivation to reduce emissions.
Climate change is impacting millions of Americans, from massive heat waves impacting their mental and physical health to destructive natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires – it is becoming clear that these devastating occurrences are only going to end when rising global temperatures do.
Consequently, the only way to mitigate that – is to reduce emissions. The globe felt some relief when Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement immediately after taking office, vowing to implement a stronger plan for the country to reduce emissions and make a difference in the fight against climate change.
But why is it important that the U.S. reduce emissions, specifically?
The U.S. is a country with indescribable capability and resources available to them. It’s not that the U.S. hasn’t been able to reduce emissions until now, it’s that they haven’t put the plans or incentives in place necessary to encourage others to reduce emissions prior to this new climate bill.
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👉 Given the United States is the world’s second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, if they are to reduce their emissions – the world could see a tangible, beneficial change to rising global temperatures. In short, the U.S. has the ability to play their part – so there’s no reason not to reduce emissions wherever possible.
If the U.S. is to reduce emissions, it could also benefit the job market. In fact, a low-carbon economy could create more jobs than those that will be lost in the fossil fuel industry. This increase in economic flow would also help the United States repair its economy after the COVID-19 crisis. If the U.S. can successfully reduce emissions, it will benefit more than just the environment – but the well-being of the country itself.
What does the new climate bill mean for the future of emissions?
The Inflation Reduction Agreement 2022 could be revolutionary in the fight against climate change. In other words, this new climate bill illustrates to the rest of the world that the U.S. and the Biden administration are ready to reduce emissions – for real, this time.
This new climate bill is serious when it comes to fines for individuals and companies that exceed their fossil fuels limits. The United States, as the country producing the second largest amount of methane emissions caused by oils and gas – is delineating in this new bill that financial consequences may be the only way to reduce emissions successfully.
How will the new U.S. climate bill reduce emissions?
This new climate bill definitely has the potential to be the most successful climate change endeavor the U.S. has embarked on thus far, as this bill provides people and business owners alike with the opportunity to make their contribution in the fight against climate change.
But exactly what is the key component that will motivate individuals and company owners alike to make such drastic changes to their daily lives and business models? The climate bill was smart enough to think of the one element that can provoke people to reduce emissions, and just about anything else: money.
👉 The many opportunities for individuals and businesses to be granted a tax reduction for installing equipment or purchasing vehicles that opt to use clean energy instead of fossil fuels could be the key factor that propels the U.S. towards success to reduce emissions once and for all.
It may seem counterintuitive to many, to purchase a more expensive washer dryer or install a costly carbon capture and storage system – but the climate bill is almost providing Americans with the extra funds to invest in a better environmental future.
The new bill has many healthcare benefits that many weren’t eligible for before, and even extends medicare benefits until 2024. In correlation with the newfound reduced costs for medicines and medical appointments, many Americans will find their wallets can handle new, more environmentally friendly machinery that they couldn’t before.
If enough people take action and utilize the benefits presented by the Inflation Reduction Agreement of 2022, the United States, and in turn – the world could begin to see what is possible if strong enough measures and incentives are taken to reduce climate change.
The bill is encouraging federal regulations to curb emissions in combination with monetary incentives to persuade consumers to seek products that optimize clean energy. Basically, the bill will reduce emissions with a dual ideal – new legislation of how many emissions a business can produce in the first place, in addition to both positive and negative financial incentives.
Are there any consequences to this new climate bill that could mitigate the potential success to reduce emissions?
The new climate bill could reduce emissions in a way that no other legislation has proven successful before. However, that isn’t to say that the new climate bill in the U.S. is flawless.
For example, the bill doesn’t completely omit the use of fossil fuels, rather – it attempts to persuade those in the U.S. to use renewable energy sources instead to reduce emissions.
The new climate bill also implies that the Interior Department could lease up to two million acres of public land to drill for gas and oil to determine which areas of land are suitable for renewable energy. While it would be productive in the long term, the immediate consequences could prove catastrophic.
Local communities will be harmed and the positive effects of the climate bill to reduce emissions might not be as efficacious as the Biden administration hopes it will be if these drillings are to occur.
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What are the biggest sectors that the U.S. should focus on to reduce emissions?
Seeing as the United States is the second largest producer of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, clearly – there are areas where the U.S. needs to focus on to reduce emissions.
The United States is known to use excessive fossil fuels in conjunction with its household name for both commercialism and consumerism. With the country’s values in capitalism and materialism – it’s hard for a country to implement methods to reduce emissions when Americans are keen to make, sell, and purchase whatever they can. Americans are known for instant gratification; everything has to be done bigger, better – faster. No American has the patience to wait for the check at the table in a restaurant the way we do in Paris at a cafe. So, it makes sense that sustainability is a more difficult concept to grasp in the United States.
It’s clear that the U.S. isn’t going to slow down on production anytime soon, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic – where production and consumerism suffered from an unprecedented, prolonged hiatus.
👉 As this is the case, instead of asking Americans to change their ways – they should change what they use.
This is precisely what the new climate bill is trying to do: convince companies and colloquial Americans to purchase more energy efficient products and encourage the use of renewable energy sources.
Want to drive across the country? Great, look into purchasing an electric car. Need a new dryer? Cool, but see if you can look into purchasing an energy efficient machine. Want to start a business? Awesome – but try to use sustainable packaging if you can.
With the new climate bill, companies around the country could be persuaded to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy – and that could make a massive difference in the amount of emissions produced by the United States.
Ultimately, is it safe to say the U.S. climate bill will reduce emissions?
The new climate bill recently passed by the Biden administration shows great potential to implement new, net-zero values amongst citizens and business owners in the U.S. if everyone is inspired by the monetary benefits of adhering to the bill, the U.S. might not only reduce emissions for themselves – but inspire the rest of the world to take part in the fight against climate change.
It isn’t guaranteed that this new climate bill will reduce emissions, as many of the incentives are voluntary amongst individuals and company owners. However, given the fact that new fines are in place for exceeding the limits of fossil fuels – it is bound to have a positive environmental impact to some degree.
Americans may need to be encouraged by money to get the ball rolling, but the rest of the world just needs a firm role model. If this climate bill proves to be successful, that could be the U.S.
What about Greenly?
If reading this article on how the U.S. climate bill is supposed to reduce emissions has made you interested in reducing your carbon emission to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.
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