The Infrastructure Act can reduce carbon emissions by nearly one billion tons

According to a new report, the settlement bill being passed by Congress may reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by nearly one billion tons by 2030.

this analyzeReleased today by the independent research firm Rhodium Group, it first looks at how the huge climate policy suite that the Democratic Party is considering as part of its 3.5 trillion dollar package can revolutionize energy and provide President Biden’s Contribute to the Paris Agreement’s emission reduction commitments.

The bill may eventually include dozens of different climate and energy provisions. But the report reviewed the six largest proposals in the current portfolio: Clean Energy and Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Expansion, Methane Fees, Rural Power Cooperative Funds, Funds for Agricultural and Forestry Carbon Capture Programs, and the Proposed Clean Power Performance Program (CEPP) .

The report found that by 2030, these policies alone can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 830 million to 936 million tons compared to the current trajectory. CEPP-which will pay electricity suppliers to deploy more clean energy with a goal of 80% clean energy by 2030-will account for most of these reductions.

John Larsen, director of the Rhodium Group and one of the authors of the report, said that this would be equivalent to “the most important thing that can easily pass Congress on climate issues.” “It is very likely that the total impact is greater than what we found-possibly much greater-simply because we didn’t count everything,” he said.

It is worth noting that this report using the National Energy Modeling System version of the US Energy Information Administration also found that methane fees will only increase consumer natural gas prices by 2% to 3%, which is relatively small in volatile commodity markets. . This finding contradicts the opinion often expressed by Republicans that the policy will harm consumers and effectively raise taxes (Electronic and Electrical Daily, September 14).

It is not clear what the settlement bill means for Biden’s commitment by 2030 to reduce emissions by 50% to 52% from 2005 levels.

The report stated: “We estimate that there is a gap of 170-2.3 million tons between emissions under the current policy and the emissions required to achieve the 2030 target.” “This range reflects the energy market, technology costs, and natural carbon removal aspects. Uncertainty.”

Politics is still tricky. The CEPP passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday, and Ways and Means will soon remove the clean energy and electric vehicle tax portion of the bill.

But in the Senate, Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) expressed opposition to the $3.5 trillion top line of the CEPP settlement bill (Electronic and Electrical Daily, September 13).

Extending the tax credit itself can significantly reduce emissions, but if CEPP is excluded, Congress or the executive branch will need some other policy to obtain 80% of clean energy.

Larson said: “The more Congress can do, especially this year, the better the overall positioning of the United States in achieving its goals.”