ACTION ALERT:
The Big Carbon Side-deal Undercuts the IRA
Collin Rees / Oil Change International
(August 23, 2022) — The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law last week, finalizing a rushed, closed-door negotiation between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin with essentially no opportunity for input from anyone else.
While the IRA includes some important investments in renewable energy, the bill embraces a deadly ‘all of the above’ energy strategy and is riddled with hundreds of billions of dollars in fossil fuel giveaways and lifelines to the oil, gas, and coal industries.
The IRA massively expands federal subsidies for ‘carbon capture and storage’ (CCS), an unproven and dangerous technology to prolong Big Oil’s influence by capturing the carbon emitted from fossil fuel power plants and other sources.
In reality, the overwhelming majority of that carbon is used to extract more oil, increasing emissions and threatening communities. The IRA also legally mandates the selling-off of millions of federal lands and waters for fossil fuel production, before any federal lands can be leased for clean energy development.
Perhaps worst of all, only a small portion of the funds in the IRA will reach people most in need — a far cry from President Biden’s professed ‘Justice40’ commitment to spend 40% of climate spending on impacted communities. These fossil fuel giveaways will be particularly destructive to Indigenous and Alaska Native communities, BIPOC communities in the Gulf South, coastal communities and communities near federal lands — yet none of these groups were consulted in the legislative process in negotiating the IRA.
To top it all off, reporting has revealed that in negotiating the IRA, Manchin obtained a commitment from Schumer to attempt to pass a separate piece of so-called ‘permitting reform’ legislation in September. In reality, ‘permitting reform’ is code for a wishlist of Big Oil’s top priorities — the bill would greenlight the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) by exempting it from necessary permits, gut the National Environmental Policy Act and other bedrock environmental laws, and remove safeguards that have protected environmental justice communities for decades.
Here’s where you come in. The IRA is now law, but there’s still time to stop this disastrous fossil fuel side deal (the leaked draft appears to have been written by the American Petroleum Institute). Join us in urging leaders in Congress like Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop this brazen giveaway to the fossil fuel industry and kill Manchin’s dirty side deal.
We won’t stop working to halt the worst parts of the Inflation Reduction Act — it’s more important than ever that we remain vigilant against dangerous distractions like carbon capture subsidies. But now is a crucial time to stop Manchin’s fossil fuel side deal in its tracks. We’ll be developing a plan over the next several weeks to pressure other members of Congress to stand up to Senator Manchin and publicly voice their opposition to these fossil fuel giveaways.
Regardless of what happens in Congress, we won’t stop pressuring President Biden to declare a climate emergency, accelerate funding for renewable and just energy systems, and reject new fossil fuel infrastructure projects.
THE LETTER
I’m writing in response to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s commitment to Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to attempt to pass a separate piece of so-called ‘permitting reform’ legislation in September. In reality, ‘permitting reform’ is code for a wishlist of Big Oil’s top priorities, and if passed, the bill would:
• Greenlight the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) by exempting it from necessary permits;
• Gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other bedrock environmental laws, and;
• Remove safeguards that have protected environmental justice communities for decades.
I’m asking you to vocally oppose this dirty side deal and pressure Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop this brazen giveaway to the fossil fuel industry. Thank you.
We’ll be in regular contact over the upcoming weeks with additional actions to pressure Congress and President Biden to act swiftly to weaken the fossil fuel industry’s stranglehold on our political system and ensure that Indigenous, BIPOC, and frontline community voices are leading our energy transition.
Collin Rees is Oil Change International’s United States Program Manager.
More Information:
• “Landmark US climate bill will do more harm than good, groups say,” The Guardian, 08-09-22.
• “Democrats’ side deal with Manchin would speed up projects, West Virginia gas,” Washington Post, 08-01-22.
• “National “People vs. Fossil Fuels” Coalition Responds to Inflation Reduction Act; Demands Congress Strike Down Manchin’s Permitting Deal and Biden Take Executive Action,” People Vs Fossil Fuels, 08-12-22.
Oil Change International campaigns to expose the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitate the coming transition towards clean energy. We are dedicated to identifying and overcoming barriers to that transition.
