Emissions and Energy Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act
An article published in the journal Science leverages results from nine independent, state-of-the-art models to examine potential implications of key Inflation Reduction Act provisions.
Abstract
If goals set under the Paris Agreement are met, the world may hold warming well below 2°C (1); however, parties are not on track to deliver these commitments (2), increasing focus on policy implementation to close the gap between ambition and action. Recently, the US government passed its most prominent piece of climate legislation to date—the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA)—designed to invest in a wide range of programs that, among other provisions, incentivize clean energy and carbon management, encourage electrification and efficiency measures, reduce methane emissions, promote domestic supply chains, and address environmental justice concerns (3). IRA’s scope and complexity make modeling important to understand impacts on emissions and energy systems. We leverage results from nine independent, state-of-the-art models to examine potential implications of key IRA provisions, showing economy-wide emissions reductions between 43 and 48% below 2005 levels by 2035.
Authors
John Bistline
Electric Power Research Institute
Geoffrey Blanford
Electric Power Research Institute
Maxwell Brown
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Jamil Farbes
Evolved Energy Research
Allen Fawcett
US Environmental Protection Agency
Anne Hamilton
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Jesse Jenkins
Princeton University
Ryan Jones
Evolved Energy Research
Ben King
Rhodium Group
Hannah Kolus
Rhodium Group
John Larsen
Rhodium Group
Amanda Levin
Natural Resources Defense Council
Megan Mahajan
Energy Innovation
Cara Marcy
US Environmental Protection Agency
Erin Mayfield
Dartmouth College
James McFarland
US Environmental Protection Agency
Haewon McJeon
Center for Global Sustainability, University of Maryland
Robbie Orvis
Energy Innovation
Neha Patankar
Binghamton University
Christopher Roney
Electric Power Research Institute
Greg Schivley
Carbon Impact Consulting
Daniel Steinberg
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Nadejda Victor
National Energy Technology Laboratory
Shelley Wenzel
Energy Innovation
John Weyant
Stanford University
Ryan Wiser
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Mei Yuan
MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Alicia Zhao
Center for Global Sustainability, University of Maryland
