FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CCL celebrates historic climate agreement, urges passage in Congress
July 28, 2022 – In an unexpected move after appearing to close down negotiations less than two weeks ago, Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have reached an agreement on major climate and energy policies that will move forward in the 2022 budget reconciliation bill.
Now called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the reconciliation package will put the U.S. on a path to at least “40% emissions reduction by 2030, and would represent the single biggest climate investment in U.S. history, by far,” according to this summary from Senate Democrats. Much of that investment is in the form of significant clean energy tax credits.
It’s hard to overstate how positive this news is. Citizens’ Climate Lobby is enthusiastically supportive of this massive slate of climate policies — indeed, our volunteers and staff have spent the last 12 months pushing Congress to be as ambitious as possible on climate policies in this reconciliation package. Many others in the climate movement did the same. Today, it seems that Senate Democrats have heard our call and delivered.
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 we can build a clean energy economy, the better — and average Americans need this support to get there.
We’re particularly excited to see that the legislation will place a fee on methane pollution, a potent greenhouse gas. The fee begins at $900/ton and rises to $1,500/ton in 2027. CCL’s research team estimates that this is a $36 to $60/ton CO2-equivalent. This sets a precedent for pricing greenhouse gas emissions, validating pollution fees as a valuable tool to reduce emissions. CCL has worked since our inception for a price on carbon, and while this package does not price carbon dioxide emissions, the methane pollution fee is an incredible win for emissions pricing in the U.S.
In addition to the clean energy tax credits and the methane pollution fee, CCL appreciates that the legislation includes measures for climate-smart agriculture, forest conservation, coastal habitats, funding for frontline communities, and more.
This legislation would not be moving forward without the broad political support for ambitious climate action that CCLers across the country helped build. Our refusal to let go of the big targets since the reconciliation process began last July helped Congress arrive at this moment. We’re proud to be a part of the climate advocacy ecosystem that pushed for this package and made today possible, and we urge Congress to pass this legislation.
CONTACT: Flannery Winchester, CCL Senior Director of Communications, 615-337-3642,
