Today, the most significant climate and clean energy legislation in history — the Inflation Reduction Act — turns one year old. And America has a lot to celebrate.
For decades, scientists and advocates have called on Washington to lead on climate. Meanwhile, the world has gotten hotter and Americans are coping with the consequences of this summer’s extreme weather — heat, smoke, fires and floods. We’ve watched in horror as Maui experienced the deadliest U.S. fire in over a century. But thanks to President Biden, Vice President Harris and Democrats in Congress, the U.S. is leading again by making the largest investment in clean energy and climate action in world history.
By 2030 the U.S. could be generating 80% of its electricity from clean sources.
How did that happen? We stopped asking the question of what do we need to shut down to tackle the climate crisis, and started asking what do we need to build — from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles and battery factories, to new industries like green hydrogen and low-carbon steel. And we made sure these new industries are built here in America, by American workers. One year in, the law is working — putting President Biden’s ambitious climate goals within reach, sparking a clean-energy boom and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs.
According to a new report from the Department of Energy released Wednesday, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, by 2030 the U.S. could be generating 80% of its electricity from clean sources. We’re on track to meet or exceed President Biden’s goal of making half of new car sales electric in the same time frame. And thanks to these laws, we’re on a path to achieve President Biden’s goal of cutting our overall carbon pollution in half by 2030.
The Inflation Reduction Act is accomplishing this with a government-enabled, but private sector-led approach. Its clean energy tax credits have already unleashed more than $110 billion in new clean energy manufacturing investments from the private sector in the past year.
We’ve seen a boom in domestic manufacturing. A factory in South Carolina, Enphase, is now producing its solar microinverters —a crucial component of solar panels — here in America for the first time. Last week, President Biden visited a former Solo cups factory in New Mexico that is now breaking ground as an Arcosa onshore wind tower manufacturing facility — and the company is contracting with union labor for construction. Batteries for electric vehicles are being built in a new “battery belt” stretching from Georgia to Michigan.
The law doesn’t just ask what we need to build, but how we build it. The Inflation Reduction Act contains incentives to invest in workers and underserved communities with bonus credits for companies that pay prevailing wage and use registered apprentices, use materials produced in the U.S., and locate clean energy projects in low-income communities and energy communities. It’s rare that one piece of legislation can change the course of history, but this law may well be the turning point in America’s fight to save the planet. All of this new activity means new jobs and new economic opportunity in states across the country — over 170,000 jobs already created and more than 1.5 million more to be added over the next decade, according to external analysts. At the same time, we’re boosting our energy security and lowering costs by making more of our energy on American soil — and we’re building healthier, more resilient communities by cutting pollution. That’s what Bidenomics — investing in America and rebuilding our economy from the middle out and bottom up — is all about. The president understands that clean energy won’t just save our planet. It lowers energy costs for hard-working families, creates good-paying, union jobs, and brings competitive industries back to our shores. Years from now, when we look back on the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, our implementation work will be judged by the tremendous impact this law has had on every American in every community. It’s rare that one piece of legislation can change the course of history, but this law may well be the turning point in America’s fight to save the planet.
John Podesta
John Podesta is senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation. 
