After a summer of distressing news regarding our nation’s lack of a firm plan to address global heating, Congress was able to pass what is actually the first-ever comprehensive climate bill.
The Senate passed it with no votes to spare. We must thank Senators Manchin and Sinema for their support of this version; their earlier opposition had stalled previous attempts at climate legislation this year. The House followed by passing the bill on August 12, and President Biden signed it right away on the 16th.
Although the climate package falls far short of President Biden’s ambitious Building Back Better legislation, which never moved forward in the Senate, early analysis of the new bill shows that it will get the U.S. to a 40 percent reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions, compared to our 2005 levels, by the end of this decade. President Obama’s commitment to the Paris climate negotiations was a 50 percent reduction by 2030. The new legislation focuses on incentives rather than penalties, carrots over sticks.