Climate Policy News You Can Use — January 2023

Published: January 31, 2023 by Victoria Mills

Climate Policy Leadership

Welcome to the first Climate Policy News You Can Use for 2023! This will be a pivotal year for climate progress, as we work to fully leverage the historic investments under the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and move key policies forward in Congress and federal agencies. Read on for opportunities to get involved.

 

I. Inflation Reduction Act: new guidance, comment opportunities and resources

In 2022, we saw strong business support for the clean energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, not only because they will drive the decarbonization needed to reach net zero, but also because they will help companies meet their enterprise-level climate goals. Now, as of January 1, businesses can access tax benefits from many of the law’s climate provisions, and the Internal Revenue Service has been busy issuing guidance on how to do so. At the end of December, the IRS issued new guidance on a range of tax credits in the, including the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit, Credits for New Clean Vehicles Purchased in 2023 and after, Credits for New Electric Vehicles Purchased in 2022 and Before. Check the IRS’s website regularly for the full set of guidance on tax credits and deductions and other updates and announcements about the Inflation Reduction Act.

There are also several opportunities for companies to provide comments on draft guidance and new grant programs. In December, the IRS issued draft guidance on the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit, which applies to a qualified fuel mixture containing sustainable aviation fuel for certain sales or uses in calendar years 2023 and 2024. Comments are due by February 17, 2023. And the U.S. EPA is seeking input on IRA programs to reduce GHG emissions from Construction Materials and Products. The EPA will host three public webinars and issue a Request for Information about these programs; written comments are due by May 1, 2023.

Here are some great new resources on the Inflation Reduction Act:

And finally, if you’re attending GreenBiz in February, please come to my breakout session with General Motors, Microsoft and Deloitte on How the Inflation Reduction Act can help you achieve Net Zero.

 

II. Congressional action on agriculture

So far, the 118th Congress has mostly been focused on leadership elections and committee assignments. That said, there has been movement on agriculture: yesterday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) reintroduced the Agriculture Innovation Act, which directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to strengthen data collection on conservation practices. The legislation would help farmers identify which conservation practices work best under various conditions, informing their efforts to reduce risks, improve productivity and achieve environmental benefits including improved soil health, water quality and efficiency, and GHG reductions. EDF supports the Agriculture Innovation Act and urges Congress to include its provisions in the upcoming Farm Bill.

➢ Take Action: To learn more about this legislation and how you can support it, reach out to Andrew Lentz at EDF (alentz@edf.org) or Tiffany Turner at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (tturner@trcp.org).

 

III. EPA methane regulation: comment period open through February 13

EPA’s methane rules are relevant not just to oil and gas companies but also to electric utilities, companies that use natural gas as a manufacturing input, and major electricity users in states with gas-heavy grids who want to reduce their energy-related GHG emissions. There’s still time to comment on the EPA’s supplemental proposal to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. This proposal strengthens EPA’s earlier proposed rule by closing a loophole for inspections at smaller wells, while maintaining provisions requiring the rapid phase-out of polluting pneumatics and offering significant flexibility for compliance. There is one major opportunity for improvement: EPA has laid out a starting framework to address routine flaring, but the agency should now eliminate the wasteful practice entirely, as Colorado and New Mexico have already done.

➢ Take action: File comments by February 13th that support federal methane regulation and ask EPA to finalize strong rules to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, including eliminating routine flaring.

➢ Go Deeper: Get ready to comment by reviewing these EDF resources:

 

IV. Also of interest

 

Thanks as always for reading!

Best,
Victoria