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The Hill
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Megabill takes a bite out of US climate progress
Models of the legislation that have emerged in recent weeks show U.S. emissions will rise as a result of its implementation. One model from climate think tank C2ES found U.S. emissions will increase by 8 percent more than they would have been otherwise as a result of the package. 'An 8 percent increase in our emissions is … still a massive amount of emissions,' said Brad Townsend, the group's vice president for policy and outreach. Taking into account all of the efforts to reduce U.S. emissions over the last 20 years, Townsend said, the bill represents 'rolling back a third of that progress with a stroke of a pen.' The Trump-backed measure both repeals spending aimed atreducing emissions that had been passed by Democrats and creates more opportunities for planet-warming fossil fuels. A refresher: Its most significant provisions repeal tax credits for climate-friendly energy technologies, including wind and solar energy, as well as electric vehicles. It also repeals programs that would have paid for low-carbon and anti-pollution projects, including in underserved neighborhoods. It includes tax breaks for oil, gas and coal and opens up more opportunities to drill on public lands and offshore. A model from Princeton University finds that without the 'big, beautiful bill,' the U.S. would cut its planet-heating emissions by 32 percent by 2035. With the bill, emissions are expected to only drop by 25 percent compared to where they were in 2005. If Biden-era policies remained in place, including not only the tax credits but also regulations, emissions would drop between 40 percent and 44 percent, the model finds. A model from the Rhodium Group found that without the bill, emissions would be 31 percent to 51 percent lower in 2035 when compared to 2005. Now, they'll only drop by between 27 percent and 44 percent during that period. Ben King, the lead author of the analysis, said this is a 'pretty substantial difference' — saying it's about 575 million extra metric tons of carbon dioxide in the year 2035 alone. That's the equivalent of putting an additional 134 million gas-powered cars on the road for a year.
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump bill takes a ‘big, beautiful' bite out of US climate progress
The ' big, beautiful bill ' is expected to make a major dent in the U.S.'s climate progress, adding significantly more planet-warming emissions to the atmosphere. Models of the legislation that have emerged since its passage earlier this month show that U.S. emissions will rise as a result of its implementation. One from climate think tank C2ES found that U.S. emissions will be 8 percent more than they would have been otherwise as a result of the package. 'An 8% increase in our emissions is … still a massive amount of emissions,' said Brad Townsend, the group's vice president for policy and outreach. Townsend said that taking into account all of the efforts to reduce U.S. emissions over the last 20 years, the bill represents 'rolling back a third of that progress with a stroke of a pen.' 'From an emissions perspective, this bill is a disaster,' he said. The Trump-backed measure both repeals spending aimed at reducing emissions that had been passed by Democrats and creates more opportunities for planet-warming fossil fuels. Its most significant provisions repeal tax credits for climate-friendly energy technologies including wind and solar energy, as well as electric vehicles. These tax credits in particular were considered a massive step toward reducing emissions when they passed in 2022 as part of the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act. It also repeals programs that would have paid for low-carbon and anti-pollution projects, including in underserved neighborhoods. On fossil fuels, the legislation includes tax breaks for oil, gas and coal and opens up more opportunities to drill on public lands and offshore. Since President Trump signed the bill on July 4, several models have indicated that provisions such as these will take a bite out of efforts to reduce U.S. emissions. One model, from Princeton University, finds that without the 'big, beautiful bill' the U.S. would cut its planet-heating emissions by 32 percent by 2035. With the bill, emissions are expected to only drop by 25 percent compared to where they were in 2005. If Biden-era policies remained in place, including not only the tax credits but also regulations, emissions would drop between 40 and 44 percent, the model finds. A slightly more optimistic model from the Rhodium Group found that without the bill, emissions would be 31 percent to 51 percent lower in 2035 when compared to 2005. Now, they'll only drop by between 27 and 44 percent during that period. Ben King, the lead author of the analysis, said that this is a 'pretty substantial difference' — saying it's about 575 million extra metric tons of carbon dioxide in the year 2035 alone. That's the equivalent of putting an additional 134 million gas-powered cars on the road for a year. The model projects that as a result of the bill, the number of new green energy projects on the grid between 2025 and 2035 will be 53-59 percent lower than it otherwise would have been. The Biden administration set a goal of cutting U.S. emissions by at least half by 2030. The Trump administration has not set its own climate goals, and the president has repeatedly downplayed the impacts of climate change and sought to bolster planet-warming fossil fuels. Climate change refers to the heating of the Earth's atmosphere, which is driven by human activities including fossil fuels and agriculture. This phenomenon makes extreme weather more frequent and intense. Over the past few decades, U.S. emissions have been declining amid a shift away from coal-fired power. The bill passed around the same time that the U.S. is seeing instances of extreme weather including recent heat waves and devastating flooding that has killed more than 130 people in Texas. While the U.S. is just one country, King noted that 'every extra ton of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere has some impact on the likelihood of extreme weather.'
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Despite last-minute changes, US Senate bill deals big blow to renewable energy
The US Senate's massive budget bill that passed on Tuesday will make it harder to develop wind and solar energy projects, despite the removal of some contentious provisions, industry advocates and lawmakers said. The Senate dropped a proposed excise tax on solar and wind energy projects that don't meet strict standards after last-minute negotiations with key Republican senators seeking better terms for renewables. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, fellow Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, whose votes were crucial to the bill's passage, had introduced an amendment calling for removal of that tax, which caught lawmakers by surprise after it made it into the last draft text. Many Republican states host large renewable energy industries. The Senate also changed language about which solar and wind projects can use the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits. In the Senate's final version, projects will be able to use the lucrative credits if they begin construction before 2026. A previous version was based on when the projects enter service. But overall, the Senate bill will make it too challenging to move forward with many new wind and solar energy projects, likely depriving the United States of added electricity capacity at a time of soaring energy demand, critics said. That could mean higher consumer bills and lost jobs around the country at project sites dependent on the credits. "Senate Republicans just voted to trigger the largest spike in utility bills in American history," said Lena Moffitt, executive director at climate advocacy group Evergreen Action. The Trump administration has brushed off criticism of the bill's aggressive phase out of renewable energy tax credit and its impact on grid stability and power prices, saying that ending these subsidies will pave the way for preferred baseload energy like gas and nuclear. "The One Big Beautiful Bill removes the nonsense and distortions from energy markets and unleashes American business to produce energy that works WITHOUT subsidies!," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on X. President Donald Trump said the package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending priorities. Research firm C2ES estimated that the United States will lose 2.3 million jobs as a result of the bill. Another research firm, Energy Innovation, projected that the bill would result in a fall of 300 GW of electricity capacity at a time of soaring demand due to data center and AI growth. Business and labor groups earlier this week had blasted the bill's phaseout of tax credits. The Senate bill effectively phases out renewable energy tax credits after 2026 if projects haven't started construction. Otherwise, wind and solar projects whose construction starts after that must be placed in service by the end of 2027. Community solar project developers warned that the bill would stop in their tracks thousands of projects already under development. "This bill will strand thousands of energy projects under development, jeopardize billions of dollars in private investment, and kill hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs - from electricians to contractors to local landowners and farmers who rely on these projects for stability," said Jeff Cramer, president of the Coalition for Community Solar Access. Meanwhile, the bill included a new tax credit for coal used in steel making that had been typically available only for critical minerals used in weapons making and green energy. Opponents said that could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for an industry that has suffered in recent years. Heather Reams, president of conservative clean energy group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, praised the bill for preserving tax credits to boost hydrogen, nuclear energy, geothermal and hydropower, as well as carbon capture technologies. But she urged House lawmakers to try to make the wind and solar tax credits more useable. "As this bill moves back to the House, we encourage members to maintain their support for these critical tax provisions, which bolster domestic energy generation to secure true American energy dominance," she said.
The Sun
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
US Senate bill impacts renewable energy projects, sparks job loss fears
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Senate's massive budget bill that passed on Tuesday will make it harder to develop wind and solar energy projects, despite the removal of some contentious provisions, industry advocates and lawmakers said. The Senate dropped a proposed excise tax on solar and wind energy projects that don't meet strict standards after last-minute negotiations with key Republican senators seeking better terms for renewables. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, fellow Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, whose votes were crucial to the bill's passage, had introduced an amendment calling for removal of that tax, which caught lawmakers by surprise after it made it into the last draft text. Many Republican states host large renewable energy industries. The Senate also changed language about which solar and wind projects can use the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits. In the Senate's final version, projects will be able to use the lucrative credits if they begin construction before 2026. A previous version was based on when the projects enter service. But overall, the Senate bill will make it too challenging to move forward with many new wind and solar energy projects, likely depriving the United States of added electricity capacity at a time of soaring energy demand, critics said. That could mean higher consumer bills and lost jobs around the country at project sites dependent on the credits. 'Senate Republicans just voted to trigger the largest spike in utility bills in American history,' said Lena Moffitt, executive director at climate advocacy group Evergreen Action. The Trump administration has brushed off criticism of the bill's aggressive phase out of renewable energy tax credit and its impact on grid stability and power prices, saying that ending these subsidies will pave the way for preferred baseload energy like gas and nuclear. 'The One Big Beautiful Bill removes the nonsense and distortions from energy markets and unleashes American business to produce energy that works WITHOUT subsidies!,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on X. President Donald Trump said the package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending priorities. Research firm C2ES estimated that the United States will lose 2.3 million jobs as a result of the bill. Another research firm, Energy Innovation, projected that the bill would result in a fall of 300 GW of electricity capacity at a time of soaring demand due to data center and AI growth. Business and labor groups earlier this week had blasted the bill's phaseout of tax credits. The Senate bill effectively phases out renewable energy tax credits after 2026 if projects haven't started construction. Otherwise, wind and solar projects whose construction starts after that must be placed in service by the end of 2027. Community solar project developers warned that the bill would stop in their tracks thousands of projects already under development. 'This bill will strand thousands of energy projects under development, jeopardize billions of dollars in private investment, and kill hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs — from electricians to contractors to local landowners and farmers who rely on these projects for stability,' said Jeff Cramer, president of the Coalition for Community Solar Access. Meanwhile, the bill included a new tax credit for coal used in steel making that had been typically available only for critical minerals used in weapons making and green energy. Opponents said that could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for an industry that has suffered in recent years. Heather Reams, president of conservative clean energy group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, praised the bill for preserving tax credits to boost hydrogen, nuclear energy, geothermal and hydropower, as well as carbon capture technologies. But she urged House lawmakers to try to make the wind and solar tax credits more useable. 'As this bill moves back to the House, we encourage members to maintain their support for these critical tax provisions, which bolster domestic energy generation to secure true American energy dominance,' she said.
E&E News
25-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Biden EPA press aide joins climate think tank
A former top press official at EPA is joining a prominent environmental policy think tank. Tim Carroll has started as senior press secretary at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. The organization, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group, researches policies to build climate resilience and works with companies to find market solutions for global warming. Carroll said in a statement he was 'thrilled' to join the center to help protect clean energy across the country. Advertisement 'As C2ES grows, we are extremely well-positioned to engage leading businesses and accelerate climate progress,' Carroll said.
