A New Way Forward for the Middle Class: A Plan to Lower Costs and Create an Opportunity Economy (the “Opportunity Economy” plan) yields just ten hits on the word “climate,” eight of which are in citations to other sources. Still, the Harris-Walz vision for an “Opportunity Economy” maps neatly onto […]
Inflation Reduction Act
18 posts
Two years into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the several tax credits that are eligible for “elective pay” are starting to catalyze investment in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and EV charging by nontaxable entities like local governments and nonprofit organizations. Slower to develop is a robust, cohesive response by nontaxable […]
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) represents the largest investment in climate action in U.S. history. In the two years since its enactment, the IRA has spurred a flurry of activity aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emission, and protecting communities from the impacts of climate change. But there is still […]
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the 25 successful applicants for a shared $4.3 billion in implementation funding under the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. The grants will enable investments in solar projects, building energy-efficiency upgrades, the buildout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, […]
Cities are often considered a niche focus for those who work in climate policy – a third level of government not directly captured in our country’s federal-state dichotomy, one occasionally commended for “stepping up” or showing “leadership” in the absence of climate action by Congress or in many states. There […]
In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced funding recipients for its National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), two programs established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The NCIF and CCIA awards are a step towards implementing the “third leg of the […]
Yesterday, March 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released final regulations for their elective pay program, which allows many non-taxpayers, including local governments and their agencies and instrumentalities, to recoup the value of certain climate and clean energy tax credits as […]
Last month, the Fordham Urban Law Journal published a paper I wrote titled The Legal Case for Equity in Local Climate Action Planning. In the last several years, cities’ climate action plans, or CAPs, have increasingly incorporated equity and justice objectives and metrics alongside more traditional greenhouse gas reduction measures […]