Feds document climate law spending in fossil fuel communities
A surge in U.S. energy manufacturing tied to the Inflation Reduction Act is boosting economic activity in the most economically disadvantaged parts of the country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a crowd at a Livent lithium production plant in North Carolina on Thursday.
“This administration is focused on how to ensure growth and jobs for middle-class Americans for the long term, whether or not they have four-year college degrees,” Yellen said during a speech at the plant near Bessemer City. “That’s where manufacturing comes in. The IRA is creating well-paying jobs for construction workers, mechanics, technicians, electricians and support staff, in significant numbers.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate legislation
The federal government and states are in the process of implementing two laws — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — an investment of more than a trillion dollars to address climate change.
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Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”