The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a budget reconciliation bill that includes $369 billion in energy and climate investments and will create an estimated 9 million jobs over 10 years. Additionally, the bill will reduce emissions by 40% by 2030, support economic and racial justice programs, and create good-paying, union jobs across the nation. With today’s vote, the bill will be sent to the president’s desk to be signed into law. 

Following the vote, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh.

Offshore wind energy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to this mission if developed responsibly with high road labor standards, a domestic supply chain, equitable community benefits, and environmental protection that avoids, minimizes, and mitigates impacts to wildlife, ecosystems, and natural resources at each phase of development.

In April, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released new guidance on the application of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) policy in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) signed by President Biden last year.

Gov. Jared Polis is expected to sign SB22-051, Policies To Reduce Emissions From Built Environment. The bill establishes a tax incentive for the installation of heat pumps in buildings and includes provisions requiring that certified contractors complete larger-scale projects. Additionally, a Buy Clean incentive, which encourages the use of building materials produced with lower emissions, will start in July 2024.

This Policy Agenda presents BlueGreen Alliance California’s policy goals for 2022. Below, we describe
priority campaigns and practical demands of policymakers in the economic sectors within which we are
working. BGA CA stands ready to work with all government, non-profit, and private sector stakeholders to
advance these intersecting goals, and others, through legislation and regulation in 2022. We hope you will
join us.

A new study finds the United States to be among the cleanest steel producing nations. This study shows that American steel manufacturers are poised to lead the industrial transformation that can help reassert U.S. leadership in manufacturing, create good jobs and fight climate change.

In this study Global Efficiency Intelligence conducted a benchmarking analysis for energy and CO2 emissions intensities of the steel industry among the largest steel-producing countries.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today the upcoming auction of two lease areas for the development of offshore wind in the Carolina Long Bay. The leases cover more than 110,000 acres and once developed, could provide enough offshore wind energy to power nearly 500,000 homes.

Oregon State Governor Kate Brown has signed into law House Bill 4139, which will ensure the state is modernizing infrastructure in a more environmentally friendly way to fight climate change. The new law, Buy Clean Oregon, will require state regulators to conduct life cycle assessments for select construction and maintenance materials used for public infrastructure…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new initiative to build up the nation’s lithium battery supply chain during a meeting of the Biden administration’s Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities today in West Virginia.

Today, the BlueGreen Alliance released two new videos featuring members from West Virginia local unions—the United Steelworkers (USW), American Federation of Teachers West Virginia (AFT-WV), Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—and members of the National Black Lung Association, including a former mineworker suffering from Black Lung Disease and a woman who lost her husband to the disease.

The bipartisan deal is a start, not the end, of what we need to build back better. Congress must act boldly and invest in America to build a clean, prosperous, and equitable economy.