The Climate Legislation this Congress Could Realistically Pass

Many members of Congress (Rs and Ds) have made public calls for encouraging clean energy.  A new analysis points to a tool that Congress could feasibly get behind which would slash carbon emissions.

That’s right.  Tax credits!  A report from the Rhodium Group, an independent research outfit, shows that passing a few tax incentives for electric cars, nuclear plants, and renewable power could lead to big carbon cuts.  The crazy thing is, both Democrats and Republicans adore them.

The federal government has given tax credits to power industries for wind (since 1991) and solar (since 2006), but those will start to phase out at the end of this year.  If Congress extended those credits another decade, it would spur the construction of enough turbines and solar panels to provide between 19 and 31 percent of the country’s electricity — up from 8 percent today, according to the report.  That could reduce greenhouse gas pollution from power plants to about half the level it was in 2005.

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