Episode 70: What does the new federal climate law mean for Virginia?

This time of year, climate change is particularly hard to ignore. We’ve just made it through another scorching summer. Virginia’s coastal regions are grappling with sea water rise. And on some days, that haze covering the Blue Ridge is smoke from California wildfires.

Despite this, the U.S. government’s response to climate change has long been… tepid. Years of kicking the can down the road or in some circles, denying the problem altogether.

But this year, that changed.

Last month, U.S. Congress passed the biggest climate law in US history … under the unassuming name, Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA is the smaller version of last year’s Build Back Better bill, with a number of compromises made to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. So now, the IRA will provide strong incentives for people to choose clean energy through their consumer choices.

To help us understand the ins and outs of the IRA and what it means for Virginia, we’re talking with writer and lawyer Ivy Main and environmental economist Bill Shobe.

For further reading, check out Ivy Main's article on the IRA here. And stay up to date on climate updates by following her blog, Power for the People VA.

Also check out the 2021 report on carbon neutrality in Virginia, co-written by Bill Shobe: Decarbonizing Virginia's Economy: Pathways to 2050