Can the U.S. Get to Net-Zero Emissions? The Visionary Climate Provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduc

Featured Speaker: Karl Hausker, PhD

Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a huge step forward for the U.S. on the path to a net-zero economy. The IRA affects all sectors and addresses both greenhouse gas emissions and the need for carbon-dioxide removal. This lecture will discuss the history of U.S. climate-change policy, the origins of the IRA, and the Act’s major provisions spanning climate, jobs, equity, and environmental justice. The lecture will explore several features of the Act that are still contentious within climate-policy circles, and will highlight some of the implementation challenges we can expect to face in the decade ahead.

Presenter Biography

Karl Hausker is a Senior Fellow in the Climate Program of the World Resources Institute. He leads analysis and modeling of net-zero emission pathways, climate mitigation, electricity market design, and the social cost of carbon. He has worked for three decades in the fields of climate change, energy, and environment in a career that has spanned legislative and executive branches, research institutions, non-profits, and consulting. Hausker holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MPP and PhD in Public Policy from UC Berkeley

Coordinator: Kamesh Gupta