Opinion: Biden and Harris made great progress on climate the past 4 years. Let’s secure the wins this November

August 16 marks the second anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris administration’s landmark legislation that made the largest investment ever in clean energy and climate action. Two years on, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is catalyzing job creation, community benefits, and climate progress across the nation, including here in Virginia. 

This election season, it’s up to voters to protect this transformative law so that it can continue delivering for our communities well into the future.

Together with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, the IRA has already added over 300,000 jobs to the U.S. economy and is projected to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 40%.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury estimates that the IRA saved American households more than $8 billion in FY2023 through its residential clean energy and home energy efficiency tax credits, which can offset up to 30 percent of the cost of home upgrades like rooftop solar panels, home battery storage, insulation and weatherization improvements, and electric heat pumps. In Virginia, nearly 90,000 households claimed a total of $221,291 in credits on home energy improvements.

These tax credits are often utilized by homeowners and wealthier households who can afford to pay for these improvements up front and recoup the tax benefits later. But in 2025, the Commonwealth of Virginia is expected to launch its IRA-funded home energy rebate program, harnessing over $188 million in federal funds to reduce the point-of-sale cost of high-efficiency electric appliances and home energy upgrades, making these improvements more affordable for low- and middle- income Virginians.

The IRA has helped spur $2.5 billion in committed investments in clean energy production and manufacturing projects in Virginia, and more and more climate-beneficial projects continue to be announced across the state. Just last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a total of $150 million to two projects in Virginia through the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. 

One of the projects will reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, at Virginia coal mines and landfills, while the other will invest in Atlantic coastal wetland and forestland conservation. Dozens more projects have been announced across Virginia, from clean school buses to solar-powered farms to forest and grassland restoration in national parks.

But if former President Donald Trump wins the November election, all of these funds could be on the chopping block. Trump has vowed to dismantle the IRA, and Project 2025, the right-wing roadmap for the next conservative administration, advocates for the repeal of the law and a dramatic rollback of federal regulations that combat climate change and protect human health and the environment. (The former president has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, despite the fact that it was written by at least 140 of his own appointees and that it mentions him by name over 300 times.) From slashing the EPA to privatizing weather alerts, Project 2025 would devastate American communities’ abilities to both combat climate change and cope with its impacts.

A repeal of the IRA and the elimination of federal support for the clean energy transition would jeopardize Virginia’s ability to meet its own climate goals. Virginians would lose out on thousands of jobs and the myriad environmental and public health benefits that the law is expected to generate by 2030. 

In this turbulent time for American politics, it’s important to celebrate progress when we can, while keeping the heat on efforts that would unravel that progress and endanger our homes, cities, health, and livelihoods. We need to spread the word about the successes of the Inflation Reduction Act and the threat of Project 2025. Virginians should talk with their neighbors about what this election means for the climate – and don’t forget that our future is on the ballot this November.