FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 13, 2022

MCV Celebrates Historic Climate Law at the White House

Conservation group represents Montana at presidential celebration 

(HELENA, Mont.) –– Today Montana Conservation Voters released the following statement from Executive Director Whitney Tawney in response to attending the White House’s celebration of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the nearly two-year effort that resulted in historic invests to fight climate change: 

“MCV is incredibly proud of all the enduring work so many contributed to get the Inflation Reduction Act across the finish line. But we’re most proud of the work of Senator Jon Tester who continues to get it done for Montana by protecting the futures of the next generation. And while we still have more work to do, we are celebrating this historic win for Montana today.” 

The IRA is the largest investment the U.S. has ever made to tackle climate change, allocating $369 billion to invest in the clean energy industry, providing significant savings on home energy costs and ensuring a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. Montana will also benefit from:

• Investments in tribal climate resilience programs through emergency drought relief measures, high-efficiency electric home rebate programs and the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program
• Investments for climate-focused wildfire protections including programs focused on preventing wildfires and tree planting projects that help protect Montana communities from extreme heat.
• Rebates covering 50-100 percent of the cost of installing new electric appliances, including super-efficient heat pumps, water heaters, clothes dryers, stoves and ovens – directly benefiting hundreds of thousands of low and moderate income Montanans.
• Grants to help state and local governments adopt the latest building energy codes, which would save the average new homeowner in Montana nine percent on their utility bills – $177 annually.
• Support climate-smart agriculture practices, which will help Montana’s 27,100 farms lead on climate solutions and reward their stewardship. Electric cooperatives, which serve about 210,000 homes, businesses and other customers in Montana, will for the first time be eligible for direct-pay clean energy tax credits.
• Dedicated investments for rural electric cooperatives to boost resiliency, reliability, and affordability, including through clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades

More information on how the law supports Montana can be found here.