A Republican push to dismantle clean energy incentives could have devastating consequences for the US economy and environment. The bill, passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday, will phase out key components of climate legislation signed by Joe Biden, sparking a record torrent of renewable energy and electric vehicle investment in the US.
Under the reconciliation bill, tax credits for cleaner cars will end this year, while incentives for wind, solar, and nuclear energy projects will be scaled down and eliminated by 2032. Clean energy manufacturing tax credits will also be axed by 2031. This move is expected to cost over 830,000 jobs by 2030, with the average household seeing its energy bills rise by more than $230 by 2035.
Experts warn that this bill could unleash millions of tonnes of planet-heating pollution, threatening to exacerbate the climate crisis. “This bill is worse than what people envisioned – it pulls the rug out from facilities banking on these incentives, raises everyday household costs, and undercuts any sort of action on climate change,” said Robbie Orvis, senior director at Energy Innovation.
The US could also emit 260m tonnes more pollution than it would have otherwise in 2035, equivalent to the entire annual emissions of Spain. The bill’s removal of tax incentives for renewable energy development is expected to reduce US GDP by over $1tn over 10 years, according to an analysis from Energy Innovation.
Critics argue that this legislation follows months of attacks on green spending from the Trump administration and sets a bad precedent for the US position on climate change. “If you take all of that together, all of these pieces have the same effect: it’s going to increase prices on everybody,” said one former senior Department of Energy official.
Organized labor is increasingly speaking out against the megabill, with unions warning that job cuts should not foot the bill for billionaire tax cuts. As the world grapples with the challenges of global heating, this bill presents a significant threat to environmental progress and economic growth.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/22/trump-republican-tax-bill