US Takes Swifter Course for Emissions Cuts

Strong low-carbon incentives in the newly signed US Inflation Reduction Act are expected to have a noticeable impact on greenhouse gas emissions, especially in electricity and transport. Much of the hype around the new law has revolved around the incentives included for carbon capture and hydrogen. Those have been emphasized as a major difference with Europe and China, where climate policies mostly focus on renewable electricity and electric vehicles (EV). But while carbon capture and hydrogen could indeed have a substantial impact post-2030, models show that in the current decade, US emissions reductions will follow the same pattern as in other global regions: They will mostly come from the power and transportation sectors where wind, solar and EVs will increasingly replace fossil fuels and internal combustion engines.