Javier Sierra
Posted Oct. 10, 2024
The summer in the Northern Hemisphere has been the hottest in history. Between June of 2023 and June of 2024, the planet lived through the hottest months in history. Unprecedented floods have devastated the Southeast of the US, Central Europe, Southeast Asia and México’s Pacific Coast. The closer we get to the climatic point of no return, the faster we do it.
At the same time, the more we invest in clean energy, the farther we get from that point of no return. And this progress in recent years has been unstoppable. Two world agencies have predicted that fossil fuel pollution will hit its peak in 2024, thanks in large part to the enormous advance of clean energy and the massive adoption of electric vehicles in China. In fact, the world invests almost twice as much in clean energy than in fossil fuels. In Europe, in the first half of 2024, solar and wind energies have surpassed that of dirty fuels for the first time in history (that word again).
But the world wants more. Weeks ago, the most ambitious climate survey ever was conducted in 77 countries among 75,000 people, 80 percent of which favored stronger measures to fight the climate crisis by their governments.
One of the world’s strongest climate measures is here in the U.S. and it’s called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Thanks to it, for the first time ever, American families will be able to access hundreds of billions of dollars to get more efficient and cleaner appliances, undertake improvements to make their homes more efficient, acquire electric vehicles, protect their health and benefit themselves from the reduction of climate pollution.
Coinciding with the second anniversary of the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the IRS reported that in 2023 more than 3.4 million families benefited from the advantages of the law by receiving more than $8.4 billion in tax credits to electrify their homes and make them more efficient and resilient. These investments have helped consumers to install rooftop solar, heat pump water heaters, battery storage, heat pumps, and insulating windows and doors, among other home upgrades.
The IRA also helped create 142,000 jobs in the clean energy economy in 2023, or 56 percent of the employment generated in the energy sector. These are good, long-lasting, union jobs.
Unfortunately, Latino families and workers are not taking as much advantage of these financial and job advantages as they could, and the main reason is because they are unaware that they exist. A Latino family can save more than $1,000 a year by taking advantage of the IRA provisions. For instance, to buy a new heat pump to cool and heat your home, the IRA offers 30 percent in tax credits on the price of the appliance. To weatherize your home with new super-efficient windows and doors, the law covers 30 percent of the costs through tax credits.
Additionally, for low and moderate income homeowners, six states have rebate programs up and running, with as many 13 more about to launch in the coming months. This program, implemented by the states, is designed to give upfront discounts to homeowners who are making these home upgrades. In New México, for example, qualified homeowners can get $1,600 in savings for insulation upgrades and can do so through major home improvement retailers like Lowe’s.
To inform the Latino community about these and many other financial opportunities, Rewiring America offers a bilingual calculator to find out how much money they can save by undertaking improvements inside and outside their homes.
Javier Sierra is a Rewiring America spokesperson.
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