Unprecedented Climate Progress in 2022 – We need way more in 2023

We’re All in this Together

Unprecedented Climate Progress in 2022
(But We Need Way More in 2023!)

By Peter Dugas

There is a lot to celebrate for climate policy progress in 2022. Most notably, President Biden and Congress grabbed climate victory from the jaws of certain defeat by passing the breakthrough Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But there was also a lot of bipartisan progress on climate. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS Act both passed with strong bipartisan majorities. And most recently the Growing Climate Solutions Act – which empowers farmers and landowners to realize their potential as natural climate heroes – was included in the year end omnibus package. It passed the Senate with a whopping 92-8 bipartisan majority!

All this proves bipartisan climate action is not only possible but increasingly rewarded by voters.

Even with this laudable progress, a lot more work must be done to meet our 50% reduction by 2030 target, a minimum requirement for stabilizing the climate (and all human enterprise). Thankfully, we Mainers have outsize influence on national climate policy. Maine is the only state with both senators on the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.

Here’s a wish-list for policymakers (and worklist for us volunteer citizen advocates) for 2023:

• Maximize the pollution-saving potential of recent legislation through permitting reform. Electricity upgrades must pass PUC reviews for each state affected. Meanwhile, fossil fuel pipelines need only pass one FERC review. Unless this bias towards fossil fuel infrastructure is addressed, the IRA will only achieve 28% CO2 reductions rather than the 40% Congress boasted at its passage.
• We won’t achieve our 50% reductions by 2030 unless we price industrial carbon pollution and return that revenue to every taxpayer. This will benefit most under 60% income level. But most importantly, it forces all industries to innovate away from carbon emissions or lose out to their cleaner competitors. With Canadian carbon dividends paying real benefits and EU/UK carbon tariffs hitting our products starting January 1st, the pressure on the US to finally join every other nation in the world will only intensify.
• Why stop at 50% reductions when we could go further and strengthen and protect forests around the world (with legislation like the FOREST Act).
• If we add increasing building electrification and efficiency – particularly import in Maine where we have the oldest building stock in the country – we can achieve 60% reductions by 2030.

So, be thankful for recent climate progress. But also be thankful that you live in THE most influential state in THE most influential country on climate policy. There’s no time to rest and climate catastrophe will not be avoided without persistence pressure on our policymakers. In this new year, resolve to exercise your most powerful voice through citizensclimatelobby.org.

Peter Dugas is a Portland resident and volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby.