Just over one year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. Since then, we have begun to see this historic affordable clean energy plan go into effect and our clean energy future take shape. The IRA is the most significant legislation and, at $369 billion, the largest investment to curb climate change in U.S. history, and that is great news for Brooklyn and Queens. 

In New York, the rise in extreme weather events, like Hurricane Ida and Superstorm Sandy, threaten our shore communities as well as inland towns with an increased risk of flooding. At the same time, the earth is experiencing its hottest summer on record. This extreme heat in and of itself puts countless lives at risk, while the consequences are compounded with massive wildfires, bigger storm surges and once-in-a-century droughts. Make no mistake, climate-related disasters are now a near-constant threat to the health and homes of millions of people. Thankfully, the benefits coming from the IRA will help reduce carbon pollution and create a cleaner environment and safer, healthier communities throughout New York and the country. 

Brooklyn and Queens are inundated with the effects of the climate crisis, but the IRA is also presenting our communities with great opportunity. For example, the Ravenswood Generating Station is the largest gas-fired power plant in the city and its pollution has fueled the asthma epidemic in the surrounding neighborhoods for decades. This is why a plan is underway to transform Ravenswood from a fossil-fuel burning power plant that pollutes our air to one that runs on renewable energy. What has become known as Renewable Ravenswood – introduced by Rise Light & Power, the current owner of the plant – is possible only because of New York State’s ambitious climate law and, critically, thanks to President Biden’s clean energy plan put forth in the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.