Inflation Reduction Act Strengthens EPA’s authority to Regulate GHG emissions
The recently enacted legislative climate, health care and tax package – known as the Inflation Reduction Act – included key provisions to modernize the Clean Air Act to bolster the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Air Act, last amended by Congress in 1990, was amended by the Inflation Reduction Act to give the EPA explicit authority to regulate greenhouse gas pollutants, including: carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
Amending the Clean Air Act to explicitly list greenhouse gases as pollutants should strengthen the EPA’s authority to develop greenhouse gas emissions regulations and help the Agency survive likely court challenges to future rules.
