Noah Rott, noah.rott@sierraclub.org
Montana -- President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) today, solidifying the nation's largest climate investment ever. Early analysis of the bill shows the bill could help the U.S. cut greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Read more here.
A few key highlights of the bill that affect Montana include:
-
Extends solar and wind credits and allocating $30 billion in funding for utilities, like NorthWestern Energy, to decarbonize their grids.
-
Funds clean energy projects with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities and prevailing wage jobs, including additional incentives for siting projects in communities with shuttered fossil fuel plants.
-
Advances electrification and efficiency efforts with tax credits for electric vehicles, residential solar, heat pumps, and battery storage, along with $4.5 billion for low-and-moderate income rebates.
-
Authorizes funds for Tribes for climate resiliency and energy projects
-
Reinstates the Hazardous Substance Superfund tax so cleanups will have a guaranteed stream of funding for years to come.
-
Hundreds of millions for wildlife programs and wildlife refuges.
-
A methane reduction program and methane fee that could impact NorthWestern Energy’s methane-producing gas resources.
-
Extends the Affordable Care Act and expands Medicaid
The final bill is a significant reduction from the original Build Back Better framework, but includes approximately two-thirds of the original provisions. It also includes a handful of new provisions favoring oil and gas leasing on public lands, demonstrating former fossil fuel executive Sen. Manchin's influence in shaping the final bill.
Montanans lobbied for Build Back Better over the past few years, organizing comments, events, lobby meetings, and phone calls in support of bold infrastructure and healthcare investments. Several Montana cities have previously passed local commitments to reach 100% clean electricity by 2030, including Helena, Missoula, and Bozeman.
Montanans reacted to the bill's signing today with these comments:
"We have been facing the threat of climate change and its intensifying impacts for a very long time. I’m concerned about the world we are leaving our children, and the legacy of putting profits before people. It shouldn’t have taken us this long to pass effective federal climate policy. I am happy to see that we are moving forward, and I hope that this is the dawn of a new era where protection of our fragile planet is recognized as the sacred duty it surely is." -- Susan Evans, Polson.
"Farming is challenging enough without having to deal with the impacts of climate change. It is essential that the United States, as the world’s largest historic producer of greenhouse gases, accepts responsibility for how it has contributed to the warming of the planet. The world can’t address the climate threat without us. We have a long way to go, but with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act perhaps we can finally say that the United States has turned the corner on climate policy. As a fellow farmer I am grateful for Sen. Tester’s vote in support of this bill and I look forward to working with him on future climate legislation." -- Max Smith, Stevensville
"I am happy to see the Inflation Reduction Act pass into law. Everywhere you look in Montana you can see the impacts of a changing climate, from shrinking snowpack to the Yellowstone floods. I hope this is the beginning of even bigger steps to address the greatest challenge of our time." -- Karen Stears, Billings
"I’m grateful to see grassroots movements finally achieve a historic federal investment in climate action, and I’m grateful to Senator Tester for helping the Inflation Reduction Act cross the finish line. The good provisions in the bill could give us a fighting chance to transition our energy system in Montana and across the country, while creating good-paying jobs, investing in healthcare, and reducing fossil fuel pollution in some low-income and disadvantaged communities. The handful of fossil fuel handouts tacked onto this mostly-good bill makes it clear the struggle isn’t over. There’s more to be done, but I hope that the majority of provisions in the bill will bolster the climate movement’s long-time efforts to secure a just transition to affordable, clean energy and a system that protects the health of our ecosystems and communities." -- Caitlin Piserchia, Interim Director, Montana Sierra Club
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.