Later today, Congress will likely pass the largest climate bill in US history.
This newsletter mentioned the bill of main target and back story how it came together. Today, I want to go into more detail and explain how it will help people and businesses give up the dirty energy that contributes to global warming.
What’s on the bill?
The bill’s climate provisions are essentially a set of subsidies for energy that doesn’t emit any carbon, such as solar, wind and nuclear power. Without those subsidies, polluting fossil fuels are often still cheaper. The subsidies try to give cleaner energy an edge.
“I don’t mean this as exaggeration: This really changes everything,” said Jesse Jenkins, a climate policy expert at Princeton University. “It will effectively shift the financial case from dirty energy to clean energy for everyone.”
For consumers, the subsidies will lower the price of electric vehicles, solar panels, heat pumps and other energy-efficient housing improvements. You can claim benefits through tax filings; as a separate discount if you do not pay taxes; or, in some cases, immediately when you make a purchase.
Let’s say you want to buy one of the newer, cheaper electric cars on the market right now, which costs around $40,000. To get a subsidy, you’ll first want to make sure the vehicle qualifies; The bill requires, among other things, that the vehicles be assembled in North America. (Ask your dealer or car manufacturer to find out.) Then make sure you qualify; For example, individual filers cannot earn more than $150,000 a year. And, with high demand, you may have to reserve a car in advance.
If you meet the requirements, you can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500 – bringing the price of a car from $40,000 to $32,500.
It’s a tax credit for new cars. For used cars, there is a smaller tax credit of up to $4,000. The goal of both credits is the playing field: Fossil fuel-burning cars are generally still cheaper than electric cars. With the credits, electric cars will cost much closer, if not cheaper, than similar non-electric vehicles.
For home improvement, the process will be different, but the basic idea is the same. For a typical $20,000 rooftop solar installation, the tax credits will reduce the price by up to $6,000. There are also subsidies for heat pumps, electric stoves and other energy-saving projects. The hope is to make all of these changes much more affordable for everyday Americans, leading to less dependence on fossil fuels and an expanded market for cleaner energy.
‘A good deal’
The bill also includes a range of benefits for businesses. For example, they will be able to claim credits to replace traditional cars with electric cars, saving up to 30% on the cost of each vehicle.
A host of other incentives will encourage businesses to build and use cleaner energy. Similar lines of credit have existed in the past, but they typically expire in a year or two – creating unpredictable boom and bust cycles for investors and businesses. This time, Congress is setting credits for at least a decade, helping to create more certainty. And the credits will apply for the first time to publicly owned utilities and nonprofits, a large segment of U.S. electricity suppliers.
The bill includes a compromise: It requires leasing more federal lands and waters to oil and gas projects. Senator Joe Manchin, Most conservative Democrat in the Senaterequest this provision.
But experts say it will have only a modest impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, the bill would deduct at least 24 tons of carbon emissions for every tonne of emissions that oil and gas supplies add, according to the report. Renewal energya consulting organization.
“It’s a trade-off,” my colleague Coral Davenport, who is in charge of energy and environmental policy, tells me. “But in terms of emissions impact, it’s a good deal.”
Key point
The bill would make cleaner energy and electric vehicles much cheaper for many Americans. Over time, it will also likely make them more affordable to the rest of the world, as more competition and innovation in the US leads to cheaper, better products that can be. are shipped worldwide.
And it will move the US closed Biden’s goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions to half their peak by 2030, according to three independent analyses.
The bill is also a sign that the US is starting to take climate change seriously. That would give American diplomats extra credibility when they ask other countries, such as China and India, to do the same.
However, many scientists believe that the United States will ultimately need to do more to prevent severe damage from climate change. “This bill is really just the beginning,” said Leah Stokes, a climate policy expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
For more
LATEST NEWS
Investigate Trump
Beef in a sports division: Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari wanted a flashy new training facility. And he wants it as soon as possible – because he works at a “basketball school.” Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops will beg for difference. A classic SEC controversy.
The power of hugs
A common motif in Japanese animation is the hug – two characters collide in an embrace, usually while falling through the air. An essay from Times critic Maya Phillips explains how hugs became such an important part of the art form.
Anime is characterized by exaggeration, in its characters, design, and action, but it tends to be shy in its depiction of romance. “A hug between lovers, family or friends is an expression of intimacy that anime can exaggerate,” she wrote.
Read essay, visualize many of anime’s iconic hugs.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook?
