Biden Climate Law Tees Up Big Carbon Cuts Via Early Green Tech
In addition to supercharging the US solar, wind and EV industries in the near term, incentives in President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law are paving the way for still-nascent technologies to help bring down global greenhouse gas emissions in decades to come. Buoyed by provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, three emerging technologies — sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen and direct air capture — could reduce carbon emissions by 99 million to 193 million metric tons per year after 2030, roughly equivalent to the carbon emissions of, respectively, Virginia or Pennsylvania in 2020, according to an analysis released Thursday by the research firm Rhodium Group.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”