Blog: What Cities Should Know About the Inflation Reduction Act

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law last week after more than a year of negotiations. The $750 billion package is aimed at reducing Americans’ everyday expenses, lowering the deficit, and combatting climate change.

Local governments need to be aware of how this legislation will impact them. They should also know about several provisions that allow local agencies to directly tap into federal assistance under IRA.

Climate Law Blog has an excellent breakdown of these provisions and more. 

The IRA is broadly understood to have the potential to materially transform the U.S. economy and to significantly contribute to its greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Local governments will be central to these efforts, as they’ll be responsible for many of the projects that IRA appropriations ultimately fund…

Local governments have a significant opportunity over the next several years. Cities’ climate action plans contemplate greenhouse gas reductions from buildings, from vehicles, and from energy generation and consumption. The IRA and local climate action planning may be mutually beneficial, with local governments able to access funding for programs included in their climate action plans, and the federal government able to achieve the goals of the IRA through local policymaking and implementation. Moreover, the IRA’s broad decarbonization of the economy through tax incentives, grant programs, and other resources can help reduce local emissions in all sectors. Several provisions – a few of which are directly available to local governments – can additionally help address local air pollution and other inequitable impacts to vulnerable communities. The IRA may be federal legislation but, with local governments’ leadership, it’s poised to remake our communities as well.

You can read the entire blog post here. It includes summaries of the following funding opportunities directly available to local governments:

• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
• Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
• Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption
• Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles
• Low Emissions Electricity Program
• Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program
• Environmental Review Implementation Funds
• Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants
• Investing in Coastal Communities and Climate Resilience
• State and Private Forestry Conservation Programs
• Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines
• Alternative Fuel and Low-Emission Aviation Technology Program