In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Resources for the Future (RFF) Research Associate Maya Domeshek and Senior Research Analyst Nicholas Roy about the Inflation Reduction Act and the emissions reductions that the law could achieve, according to projections from various energy models in an analysis they published recently in “Science” magazine. Domeshek and Roy discuss the projections; the law’s potential costs, benefits, and effects on electricity prices; the differences among the models in their analysis; the caveats of economic models; and how decisionmakers can use the modeling results to improve policy.

References and recommendations:

“Emissions and energy impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act” by John Bistline, Geoffrey Blanford, Maxwell Brown, Dallas Burtraw, Maya Domeshek, Jamil Farbes, Allen Fawcett, Anne Hamilton, Jesse Jenkins, Ryan Jones, Ben King, Hannah Kolus, Joh, Larsen, Amanda Levin, Megan Mahajan, Cara Marcy, Erin Mayfield, James McFarland, Haewon McJeon, Robbie Orvis, Neha Patankar, Kevin Rennert, Christopher Roney, Nicholas Roy, Greg Schivley, Daniel Steinberg, Nadejda Victor, Shelley Wenzel, John Weyant, Ryan Wiser, Mei Yuan, and Alicia Zhao; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/emissions-and-energy-impacts-of-the-inflation-reduction-act/

“Beyond Clean Energy: The Financial Incidence and Health Effects of the IRA” by Nicholas Roy, Maya Domeshek, Dallas Burtraw, Karen Palmer, Kevin Rennert, Jhih-Shyang Shih, and Seth Villanueva; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/beyond-clean-energy-the-financial-incidence-and-health-effects-of-the-ira/

“The 45V Hydrogen Tax Credit: Considerations for US Treasury Guidance” RFF Live event; https://www.rff.org/events/rff-live/the-45v-hydrogen-tax-credit-considerations-for-us-treasury-guidance/

“After the Flood” by Lydia Barnett; https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/11510/after-flood

“Field Trip” podcast; https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/field-trip/

How Much will the Inflation Reduction Act Reduce Emissions?, with Maya Domeshek and Nicholas Roy

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.