Tags
- In The News
- August 2022
Bloomberg Law: New Climate Law Funds Buoy State Lawmakers’ 2023 Priorities
August 23, 2022
Bloomberg Law speaks with Alliance Executive Director Casey Katims about the impact and potential of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“The Inflation Reduction Act offers a federal shot-in-the-arm to building efficiency, emissions reduction plans, and equity efforts. The measure, signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 16, is motivating state policymakers to consider how to seize on the once-unexpected congressional support on climate.”
“‘What’s impressive about the package is the suite of tools that it gives to state leaders to kick-start work to decarbonize across sectors,’ said Casey Katims, executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan governors group. ‘It gives tools to states to adopt more stringent tailpipe emission standards. It gives tools to states to promote natural carbon sequestration on lands. It gives tools to states to deploy zero-emission technologies.’”
“’I think this bill is just a start,’ Katims from the U.S. Climate Alliance said. ‘And I think we all hope that this paves the way for even more ambitious action in the future.’”
About the Alliance
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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