Federal and state agencies are playing a crucial role in uplifting workers and communities as they develop programmatic requirements and guidance to implement the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act. See our checklist which aims to ensure these investments support and create good-paying union jobs, protect worker rights, prioritize systematically marginalized communities, reduce emissions and pollution, and reinvests in U.S. manufacturing.

Last year, fueled by a desire to buck the status quo that has chipped away at workers’ health, safety, and rights for too long, the BlueGreen Alliance advocated tirelessly for a historic climate and jobs bill. We called for a bill based on the core tenet that the clean economy should work for working people, while protecting the environment and people’s health. It should also create good-paying, accessible jobs for all.

Just one year after being signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act is helping to build a clean economy that does all that. If it is implemented correctly and the jobs created are good, safe, union jobs for all workers.

Our newest map highlights the opportunity for strong equity and labor standards to equip hard-hit communities to translate the investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act into higher-paying jobs, cleaner air, improved health, and stronger local economies.

Reducing methane emissions in the United States is yet another example of how the nation’s environmental challenges can also be economic opportunities. Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) and one of the largest contributors to climate change. Reducing methane emissions can reap economic benefits for…

The Colorado BlueGreen Alliance Coalition secured high road labor protections for a variety of clean energy solutions including landmark legislation to ensure that all large energy-sector projects will include labor standards in line with eligibility requirements outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act’s enhanced tax credits.

The Inflation Reduction Act extended and strengthened tax credits for investment in and production of a range of clean energy technologies—including solar, geothermal, wind, heat pumps, clean hydrogen, electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure—and energy storage technology. Critically, tax-exempt entities, such as public schools, non-profit hospitals, and Tribal, local, and state governments can now claim the tax credits in the form of “direct pay.”

The 117th Congress passed historic infrastructure legislation that can be utilized to retrofit buildings, including Municipal, University, School, and Hospital (MUSH) buildings. MUSH buildings are particularly important, serving as essential community assets that represent significant opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve health outcomes, build climate resilience, and support and create good, local jobs all while addressing equity and environmental justice. The objective of this roadmap is to identify the federal funding opportunities available through the Inflation Reduction Act, The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and, in the case of schools, the American Rescue Plan, that can be used to upgrade MUSH buildings. 

As one of the most important metals for modern life, aluminum is all around us. From our bridges and high-rise buildings to our smartphones and kitchen appliances, this highly durable, lightweight, and conductive material is essential. It’s also a key ingredient for achieving our climate, jobs, and national security goals. As a primary component of solar panels, power lines, electric vehicles (EVs), and other clean technologies, aluminum is a building block of our clean energy solutions.1 At the same time, producing aluminum requires a tremendous amount of energy, and globally, the sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As the world produces increasing amounts of this material for the clean energy economy, we must simultaneously decrease the emissions from its production in order to achieve global climate targets.

 The Oregon State Senate today approved a transformative “Buy America” bill (HB 3332), which will retool the state’s procurement practices and greater align state buying power with current robust federal domestic standards.

Empowering workers, whether they are in the private sector or in the public sector, to band together to negotiate better wages and safer working conditions is the best path forward to protecting our workers and rebuilding America’s middle class. 

Researchers at Dartmouth and Princeton released a BlueGreen Alliance-funded report on the estimated impacts the Inflation Reduction Act will have on the U.S. wind and solar industry, including changes in wind and solar manufacturing, labor standards for clean energy workers, job creation, and demand for materials.

Governor Jared Polis signed HB23-1210—The Carbon Management Act. This bill was sponsored by State Representative Ruby Dickson and State Senators Chris Hansen and Kevin Priola. The new law requires the Colorado Energy Office to develop a roadmap examining the removal of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.