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After President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, the real work of making sure Americans understand its impact begins.
Given the fact his agenda looked dead in the water just over a month ago, I’d understand if Biden strutted to the signing table Ric Flair-style.
But it’s not time to spike the football just yet.
Make no mistake, passing the most ambitious climate package in United States history is Biden’s greatest accomplishment yet. But recent polling reveals a challenge the Biden administration will face as it looks to maximize the bill’s benefits: Most Americans don’t think their personal behaviors have much of an impact on climate change.
According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Monday, a majority of U.S. adults (52%) think their actions have an effect on climate change, down 14% from 2019. At the same time, the number of U.S. adults who think their behaviors don’t affect climate change rose from 33% to 47%.
In fairness to the people skeptical of their own impact on the climate, researchers in recent years have been more vocal in highlighting the importance of large, institutional changes to benefit the climate over more individual choices.
But that doesn’t mean we, as individuals, are completely helpless in dampening the impact of climate change. In fact, billions of dollars in tax credits have been allocated through the Inflation Reduction Act to effectively help Americans make the fight against climate change a more central part of their lives. That could mean buying an electric vehicle, equipping your home with solar panels or investing in climate-friendly appliances.
Democrats have already secured the money for these things. Now (hopefully) comes the mass marketing campaign to inform the country how it can be used. We’ve reached a new frontier in America’s fight against climate change.