How Would Democrats’ Climate Change Bill Cut Carbon Emissions?

Senate Democrats say their compromise climate-healthcare-tax bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, aims to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.

The bill includes roughly $380 billion of tax credits and spending focused on climate change measures — like incentives for battery manufacturing, domestic mining for green energy materials, and renewable energy projects, including nuclear energy. The bill also includes incentives for households to switch to electric vehicles, including a $4,000 tax credit for buying used electric cars. Furthermore, part of the bill’s estimated $739 billion in tax revenues would come from fees on methane emissions. 

Coverage in left-rated outlets often framed the bill as positive and highly consequential; The New York Times (Lean Left bias) said the deal “almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change,” and CNN (Left bias) called it the “biggest legislative climate investment in US history.” Coverage from the left was also more likely to feature charts or other visualizations of the bill’s proposals.

Meanwhile, coverage from the right was often skeptical or critical of the bill. Fox News (Right bias) called the deal “the Manchin-Schumer tax hike and climate change bill” and highlighted how Democrats previously wanted to spend even more. Several opinions from the right called Democrats “delusional” or “insidious” for taxing businesses or purportedly trying to “hurt Americans who live in coal-rich states.”