President Joe Biden signs the Democrats' landmark climate change and health care bill in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, as, from left, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., watch. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The U.S. Congress stepped up with decisiveness to bolster Ohio’s economy while simultaneously addressing the existential threat of our lifetimes – climate change.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law yesterday by President Joe Biden, represents the most significant achievement ever by Congress to address the climate crisis. Importantly, it allows states like Ohio to boost our economy in ways that lead to healthy, resilient communities and support the many corporations seeking investment here.

The bill includes a suite of incentives and investments that will make meaningful progress toward our climate goals and expand opportunities to support innovative, cleaner industries and the jobs that come with them. The provisions could reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 40% (from 2005 levels) by 2030, putting us within reach of our domestic climate goals and international commitments.

The bill will also help address the disproportionate effects climate change has on historically marginalized communities, who have traditionally contributed the least emissions, by improving local air quality, lowering energy costs, and expanding access to clean energy.

Additionally, recent research found that, nationally, these investments should support more than 600,000 jobs every year for 10 years. These include skilled jobs that will help diversify economic opportunities, since they come from a mix of investments across the power, agriculture and forestry, buildings, and transportation sectors. These jobs and the associated economic activity are projected to generate nearly $6.2 billion annually in local, state, and federal government taxes for ten years.

Here in Ohio, clean power incentives and investments will create employment opportunities that trend toward well-paying jobs in construction and professional-services industries, with benefits rippling throughout the supply chain and broadly across the economy. Accelerating clean energy production and greater energy efficiency will help diversify our energy mix, contributing to greater energy security, moderating price spikes and avoiding supply disruptions. Specifically, the Inflation Reduction Act will support:

· Production tax credits to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and critical minerals processing.

· Grants to retool existing auto manufacturing facilities to manufacture clean vehicles, ensuring that auto manufacturing jobs stay in the communities that depend on them.

Further investments in climate-smart agricultural practices and forest revitalization will create thousands of jobs and support rural communities while absorbing more carbon from the air, protecting our drinking water and natural habitat. These investments include:

· Grants to support healthy, fire-resilient forests, forest conservation and urban tree planting.

· Tax credits and grants to support the domestic production of biofuels, and to build the infrastructure needed for sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels.

· Grants to conserve and restore coastal habitats and protect communities that depend on those habitats.

At the same time, while we fully agree these are steps in the right direction, we recognize and urge Congress to find bipartisan solutions — in Ohio and across the nation. Climate change knows no political affiliation, and finding common ground is critical if we are going to help both people and nature. Partisan bills may get us part of the way there, but the most far-reaching and durable solutions come when Republicans and Democrats identify and forge solutions together.

Bill Stanley is state director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. (Photo by David Ike)

While not perfect, this bill represents the best chance we’ve had in decades to significantly reduce the nation’s carbon emissions. When combined with the long-term benefits for jobs, energy security and community resilience, it is clear these investments are the right choice to put us on a path toward a brighter and healthier future.

Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act gives us hope and more optimism than we’ve had in years that the U.S. Congress finally recognizes the urgency of the global climate crisis.

Bill Stanley is state director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio.

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