Congress passed an expansive bipartisan energy package in a year-end omnibus spending bill that will drive emissions reductions, increase jobs, support economic competitiveness, and result in the development and deployment of technologies essential to meeting 2050 climate goals. Passage of the Energy Act of 2020—the first major energy package in over a decade—signals broad support for building a net-zero carbon economy, which requires an all-hands-on-deck approach over the next decade.
Here are some takeaways on the Energy Act of 2020 and the broader omnibus spending package:
- The bill’s passage signals growing support for robust federal investment in zero- and low-carbon solutions to meet energy and climate goals, including over $35 billion in authorizations for technology research, development, and demonstration; updating and retooling of federal energy programs; energy tax credit extensions; and other critical measures.
- The omnibus includes landmark climate legislation to phase down hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, by 85 percent over 15 years that will ensure the US contribution to global commitments on HFCs and prevent an estimated half-degree Celsius of warming.
- Bipartisan collaboration by US Senate and House members and staff over several years made it possible to pass the Energy Act of 2020, the most significant energy package in over a decade.
- The Energy Act provides a solid foundation for putting the US on a trajectory, in this decade, to develop and deploy the technologies needed to build a net-zero carbon economy by midcentury.
Bipartisan collaboration enabled passage of the Energy Act’s expansive provisions
The negotiated Energy Act of 2020 was years in the making and included bipartisan provisions developed from previously introduced Senate and House bills. For example, on the Senate side, the final package featured sponsored or cosponsored provisions from nearly 70 senators and 37 different bills, 29 of which were bipartisan. As lead Senate sponsor, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) stated,
“The Energy Act represents the first modernization of our nation’s energy policies in well over a decade. This bipartisan package will foster innovation across the board on a range of technologies that are critical to our energy and national security, our long-term economic competitiveness, and the protection of our environment.”
In a joint statement, House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Energy Subcommittee Chair Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) highlighted the omnibus bill’s implications for clean energy:
“The energy provisions in this year’s omnibus make long-overdue reforms and authorize sweeping investments that will help transition the country to a clean, low-carbon future. This legislation includes programs to develop and deploy renewable energy, improve the efficiency of our homes and businesses, modernize the grid, reduce carbon pollution from industrial and traditional power sources, and more.”
Throughout the Energy Act, Congressional leaders made clear their support for a federal role in advancing decarbonization. For example, in a “Sense of Congress” section, the bill describes funding priorities for the Secretary of Energy on research “to reduce emissions and meet 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, or zero emission energy sources while maintaining United States leadership in science and technology.”
The legislation also reflects the collaborative work of many organizations, companies, and coalitions to build support for the provisions included in the Energy Act of 2020. Coalitions convened or facilitated by GPI alone represent over one hundred companies, utilities, unions, and NGOs who worked together to urge congressional action on priorities for low- and zero-carbon technologies.
Energy Act of 2020 makes “down payment” on critical emissions-reduction technologies
Achieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 will entail public officials, industries, organizations, and communities working together to transform the energy system, build infrastructure on a large scale, and invest in existing and emerging technologies with broad economic and environmental benefits.
The Energy Act of 2020 provides significant federal funding, policies, programs, and administrative support that can begin putting the US on the trajectory to meet 2050 climate goals. Senate Energy Committee Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV) referred to the bill as “a down payment on the technologies that will be critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector, industry, and buildings and addressing climate change.”
The legislation will enable research, demonstration, and deployment of low- and zero-carbon energy technologies and increases in energy efficiency for residential and commercial buildings (see a section-by-section summary). The omnibus package also included extensions of key tax provisions for carbon capture and removal projects, energy efficiency, renewable energy projects, biofuels, and more.
As we look to the new Congress and incoming administration of President-elect Biden, this legislation provides powerful momentum and support for further bipartisan legislative action to put the nation firmly on a path toward reaching midcentury climate goals.
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