Meeting the Moment on Climate Through the American Household
Alex Laskey, Ari Matusiak, Sam Calisch, Rachael Grace, and Leah C. Stokes, Rewiring America, October 2021.
Congress is negotiating historic legislation that will invest in our families, build our communities and address the climate crisis. When it comes to the scale of the moment before us, there is simply no time left for half-measures and “next time” ambition. We must come together as a country, mobilize the scale of resources necessary to unlock the next generation of American prosperity, and secure our future for generations to come.
Proposed Adjustments to the Build Back Better Act
Without the Clean Electricity Performance Program or a carbon tax, the Build Back Better Act (BBB) needs to include additional climate investments or we will not meet President Biden’s goal to cut carbon pollution in half this decade. We need larger investments in our building sector to deliver a climate package that takes on the crisis in every sector, at scale. The reason is twofold: 1) the amount of emissions determined by our kitchen table decisions requires it; and 2) the accelerating impact of electrifying our end-use machines will result in required investments in clean electric supply.
It is time to treat the American household as the keystone of our climate infrastructure. Rewiring America proposes expanding the level of investment within the BBB in three key ways to drive incremental emissions reductions:
Front-end consumer electrification and weatherization rebates or grants for low-and moderate-income (LMI) households.
Individual- and business-facing tax credits to incentivize the rest of the market.
Subsidized, low-cost financing, lowering monthly payments for all.
This memo outlines modifications that would benefit approximately 50 million households and reduce emissions by 110 MMT annually by 2030.