WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today hailed the Biden Administration for injecting a much-needed jolt of energy into effective, collective climate action this week with three key announcements:

“We need urgent, coordinated action to cut emissions and costs to create a healthier environment.  The Biden Administration isn’t just talking about climate change, it’s dedicating significant resources and ensuring the federal government does its part to help Rhode Island and other states get the job done.  These latest federal investments will help make new homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient, reducing both utility bills and carbon emissions.  It will help Rhode Island continue to play a national leadership role on offshore wind.  And it will help mobilize young people nationwide to make a real, significant impact.  Previous Administrations didn’t do enough to lead on climate change.  We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a real difference here and now – for ourselves and for future generations.  And together we will harness innovation, American ingenuity, and technology to better protect our environment, power our economy forward, and solve the climate crisis,” said Senator Reed.

“Today, thanks to Senator Reed and the Biden Administration, we’re ramping up our progress in climate action,” said Acting State Energy Commissioner Chris Kearns. “These investments in green building energy codes, workforce training, and offshore wind research will help advance our energy goals, as we work toward achieving our objectives with Act on Climate.”

The announcement of these new federal investments come during Climate Week 2023— an annual gathering of climate leaders and advocates.

These latest federal investments build on recent climate progress under the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law on August 16, 2022.

The Inflation Reduction Act will bring an estimated $4.1 billion of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to Rhode Island between now and 2030.  It provides a historic set of tax credits that will create jobs across solar, wind, storage, and other clean energy industries.  These credits include bonuses for businesses that pay a prevailing wage, so that Rhode Island workers earn a good paycheck as we build the clean energy future in America.

Under the Biden Administration, $65 million has been announced for grants, rebates, and other initiatives to accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean buildings, and clean manufacturing in Rhode Island.

This is in addition to the $63.8 million from the Inflation Reduction Act that Rhode Island is getting to support residential adoption of energy efficiency and home electrification. Under the law, states administer these federal rebates and benefits.

Reed says that the Biden Administration’s launch of the American Climate Corps will put thousands of young people to work in good-paying jobs that restore our public lands and coastlines and.

“It’s critical that we offer young people pathways to careers, especially in the growing green economy.  This initiative will help service-minded people lead at the local level on climate, educate the public, and engage volunteers in urban greening, wildfire resiliency, clean energy, food waste prevention, and more.  It will also help aspiring college students or recent graduates earn education awards to pay for college or help pay off student loans,” noted Reed.

Senator Reed also pointed out that seemingly modest investments in climate action and community resiliency can have major economic payoffs in the long run.

For instance, according to DOE, homes built to today’s energy codes are nearly 40 percent more efficient than homes built just 15 years ago, dramatically cutting energy costs for consumers. 

Switching to updated energy codes would equate to almost 2 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions reduction, the equivalent of removing over 445 million gas powered cars from the road over the same 30 years, according to DOE.