Making progress in the Build Back Better Act

Five out of our six 2021 climate priorities showed up in the bill. Though the fight isn’t over, its passage should be a celebration for advocates.

This week, Congress could vote on the largest climate bill in U.S. history, the Build Back Better Act. The bill allocates over $500 million for climate spending and contains components of five out of the six policy priorities we advocated for this year. Although some didn’t manifest in the way we hoped—such as the Clean Electricity Performance Program—the combination of policies in the Build Back Better Act would be capable of meeting the 50% emissions reduction by 2030 commitment under the Paris Agreement.

In a piece of legislation this large, with a Senate climate majority this slim, compromise is inevitable. The following provisions are the result of countless changemakers like you who concentrated their efforts on effective, personalized communication.

Here’s how each of our issue priorities were included in the bill:

• Electric vehicle incentives: Expands tax credits to make electric vehicles more affordable, replaces certain dirty vehicles, allocates funds for deploying EV charging infrastructure, and provides domestic manufacturing grants.

• Clean energy tax credits: Extends wind and solar tax credits by 10 years.

• Clean electricity standard: The bill does not include a clean electricity standard, but it directs targeted federal investments into the clean energy transition, including for storage and efficiency, rural areas, environmental justice communities, transmission, and innovation.

• Fossil fuel subsidies: Reinstates taxes on polluters in Superfund sites (areas of highly concentrated pollution).

• Fossil fuel development: Requires fossil fuel companies on public lands to clean up their own oil spills, provides financial incentives to stop methane leakage, and closes loopholes in federal leasing regulations.

© 2022 Climate Changemakers