Biden’s climate investments can create jobs, save money
There’s been a lot of discussion about the Biden Administration’s major infrastructure initiatives making their way through Congress. Journalists, pundits, and some CEOs have criticized the package as too big, too expensive, and too ambitious. In short, they say we can’t afford it.
As a business owner and climate tech entrepreneur based in Dayton, I am keenly aware of the impact taxes and big government can have on my business and my ability to look after my employees. But in my opinion, when it comes to the administration’s Build
Back Better (BBB) Plan, we can’t afford NOT to do it.
The plan currently has a price tag of $3.5 trillion but is being cut back to something closer to $1.75 trillion and will include a wide range of investments in everything from families to health care to climate change.
As someone having spent his career investing in climate technology,
I believe climate change is an existential threat to humanity — the most important challenge facing our city, country and planet.
Eleven years ago, I founded Aeroseal, a company dedicated to advancing the sustainability of humanity through improving efficiency, enhancing lives, and combating climate change. We’ve grown to almost 140 people across two facilities, where we create technology that improves the energy efficiency, climate impact, and health and comfort of homes and commercial buildings.
Buildings are critical in the climate fight.
The U.S. Department of Energy says the 129 million residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. “use roughly 40% of the nation’s energy, and account for a little over a third of our carbon emissions.” That’s why the BBB Plan includes significant tax credits and incentives for builders, commercial operators and homeowners to invest in technologies that will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
For example, the current version of the bill includes a significant expansion of the 25C home renovation credit, which will give homeowners a $1,200 tax credit every year to make energy improvements to their home, such as replacing a furnace, adding insulation, and sealing ductwork. Imagine getting a tax credit for doing something that will not only help the environment but will also save you money. For an average home in Dayton, sealing ductwork can save more than $400 per year in utility bills, while improving indoor air quality.
And that’s just the start. The BBB Plan includes other investments that will make building and buying Energy Star and Net
Zero Ready homes more affordable, will improve the energy efficiency of office buildings, will invest in more energy efficient low-income housing, and will make it easier and less expensive to buy the technology needed to reduce emissions and save the planet.
This isn’t just an abstract debate about spending. This matters to all of us. These investments will make peoples’ lives better, put more money in their pockets, and help industry create more and better jobs.