The Biden administration is outlining renewable energy tax credits and a mandate that utilities shift to carbon-free power as its priorities for the second Democrats-only measure to follow the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy listed tax incentives to encourage renewable energy and a clean electricity standard when asked during a Punchbowl News event Wednesday what her “non-negotiables” are for the second legislative measure.
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“We do have some bottom lines,” McCarthy said. In addition to renewable energy tax credits and the clean electricity standard, she said she would “love to see” money to create a Civilian Climate Corps that would put young people to work restoring ecosystems and building climate resilience.
President Joe Biden is pursuing a two-track strategy on infrastructure, securing a $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal focused on traditional roads and bridges, as well as some investments in electric vehicle charging stations and the electricity grid. That bipartisan deal, however, excludes many of the most significant climate measures Biden proposed in his initial infrastructure plan, including nearly $300 billion in clean energy tax credits and a mandate that utilities achieve carbon-free power by 2035.
In recent days since unveiling the bipartisan deal, Biden has had to tread carefully to keep Republicans happy with the bipartisan package while also reassuring climate activists that he won’t forget about his more aggressive emissions policies.
McCarthy, during her remarks Wednesday, said the White House will insist on renewable energy tax credits and a clean electricity standard in the Democrats-only bill that would be passed through the budget reconciliation process.
“We need to incent the private sector to step up. We need to make sure that we’re sending a signal that we want renewable energy and it’s going to win in the marketplace,” McCarthy said.
She added that while the $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal is a “great infrastructure package,” it doesn’t do enough to drive the adoption of clean energy.
In tandem with the tax credits, developing a clean electricity standard will also be necessary to drive greater private sector investment in zero-carbon power.
“We need to tell the utility world where they need to go. Once we do, the private sector will follow,” she said. “We know that provides a level of certainty to long-term investments that this country needs, and we’re going to move these pieces together.”
McCarthy, in a memo circulated Tuesday along with Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn, touted climate provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that she said are critical, including investments to modernize the electricity grid, support for public transit, and funds for electric vehicle charging.
However, the memo also lays out the renewable energy tax credits, the clean electricity standard, and the Civilian Climate Corps as three of Biden’s remaining priorities on climate change.
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“That is why he intends to work with Congress through the budget process to pass additional legislation that will position the U.S. to combat climate change, create good-paying, union jobs, and win the clean energy future,” the memo read.
Nonetheless, the memo didn’t draw as strict of lines as McCarthy did in her comments Wednesday, and neither the memo nor McCarthy said Biden wouldn’t support the bipartisan measure if his other climate priorities were left on the chopping block.
