Why Washington is excited about latest climate initiatives in DC

Climate policy analysts in Washington state are excited about the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the U.S. Senate over the weekend.

It includes $369 billion worth of investments in climate initiatives — things like tax breaks for clean energy producers, rebates on electric cars, and heat pumps for consumers.

Jamal Raad, with Evergreen Action, a climate policy and advocacy organization, said the last time the federal government made a major investment in clean energy was right after the Great Recession. This legislation would spend four times as much on climate action.

”And even that investment, that ... $90 billion in 2009 revolutionized entire industries, drove down the cost of wind and solar significantly," Radd said. "And so I don't think you can discount how big of an investment this is and how powerful it can be in supercharging our transition to a clean energy economy.”

Raad said Washington is in a good position to take advantage of the transition with its numerous clean energy policies.

The U.S. House is expected to vote on the legislation later this week.