August 7th, 2022
Washington, DC — Following the Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) Senior Attorney Steven Feit issued the following response:
“Solving the climate crisis requires eliminating fossil fuels, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 simply does not do this. The investments in renewable energy, electrification, and efficiency are critical components of an energy transition, but they by themselves will not displace fossil fuels. The enormous and virtually unlimited subsidies for carbon capture and storage and fossil hydrogen are nothing but a lifeline to coal, oil, and gas companies, locking in another generation of fossil fuel infrastructure when we desperately need to move beyond it. Worse, this new infrastructure will by design threaten communities already disproportionately exposed to environmental risk and toxic pollution. The IRA means they will continue to bear the disproportionate brunt of spills, leaks, intensified weather, and pollution, with deadly consequences. A truly just response to the climate crisis must rapidly address the overwhelming cause: fossil fuels.”
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Media contact:
Cate Bonacini: press@ciel.org, +1-202-742-5847