The Environmental Protection Agency will have the resources to get inside the books of thousands of American businesses to check on their climate goals, when the House passes the Senate’s Inflation Reduction Act package on Friday, as it is expected to do.
The bill itself has billions of dollars in tax credits for clean energy goals and for companies investing in “decarbonization.” It has another $5 million for the EPA to scrutinize corporations on their greenhouse gas emission promises and other climate-related company goals, and make sure that those company promises and goals are being met.
Included in the Inflation Reduction Act is language to create “enhanced standardization and transparency of corporate climate action commitments and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” The EPA will further have a bigger role in overseeing progress by companies toward climate goals, but the bill is vague on what authority the EPA will actually have in forcing companies to meet EPA objectives.
Also in the Inflation Reduction Act are numerous laws to force the reduction of methane emissions, and a federal levy of up to $1,500 per ton on emissions from oil and gas companies, pipeline operators, and other power generators. The fee would cover about 40% of emissions.
The funds are shielded in such a way that even if the House flips to Republican control this year, lawmakers won’t be able to claw back that appropriation. That is because the EPA has until 2031 to use the money and any other resources appropriated to it for that purpose.
The bottom line is that the Inflation Reduction Act gives the EPA authority to force companies not only to have climate goals, but to disclose those goals to the government and allow the government to ensure they are met. This is part of the Biden administration’s agenda to cut greenhouse emissions by 52% by 2030.
