Matthew Huber, professor of geography and the environment, commented on a new treasury department report detailing how residential tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have disproportionately benefited wealthy families.

Huber says, “If going green is just a niche lifestyle choice for the upper middle class, it won’t move the needle on emissions at a societal level.”

The two IRA tax credit programs in the report include one focused on efficiency improvements and heat pumps, and another on renewable energy production, like rooftop solar panels. In 2023, approximately half of those who claimed at least one of these credits had incomes lower than $100,000, while roughly 75% of tax filers had incomes lower than $100,000. Wealthier Americans, meanwhile, more frequently adopted both tax credits, according to the article on the report.

Huber says, “Most working-class Americans, living paycheck to paycheck, do not have the savings or credit to buy a new heating/cooling system … even with a complicated incentive to do so.”

Read more in The Guardian article, “Tax credits in Biden’s landmark climate law disproportionately benefit well-off.”