While the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was anything but smooth sailing, it is the implementation of the funding that will be the real challenge in determining the law’s overall benefit to the climate. States are in the driver’s seat for how and where the money will be spent. With the cascading extreme weather events plaguing the country this summer, it is more urgent than ever for the United States to rapidly transition off of fossil fuels and to a clean energy future.
As reports have acknowledged, the IRA alone won’t be enough to cut emissions between 50 and 52 percent by 2030 as required by the Paris Climate Agreement. States are critical to avoiding devastating climate impacts in the years to come.