To unlock the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act–including tax credits for U.S. households aimed at transitioning to cleaner energy consumption–we need to build more clean energy, faster. Failing to hasten the build-out of transmission lines to move more clean energy from wide open spaces to cities where people will use the energy could stall those benefits and forfeit a HUGE opportunity to curb greenhouse gasses—a recent study shows that 80 percent of the greenhouse gas reductions could be lost if the U.S. doesn’t build any new transmission lines.

We need a lot more transmission lines, but a maze of federal, state, and local permitting processes slows down progress on transmitting clean energy. Meanwhile, House Republicans exacerbate the climate crisis by trying to make permitting easier for pipelines that carry harmful fossil fuels clean energy is meant to replace. The big energy bill that they passed last month, H.R. 1, will speed up oil and gas production in the worst possible way, creating loopholes and exemptions in bedrock environmental laws for big polluters.

Right now “permitting reform” is a hot topic in Washington, but it has to be done right.

The Dirty Deal proposed by Senator Joe Manchin last fall was a first attempt at permitting reform, but it was heavily slanted toward the fossil fuel industry. And now, H.R. 1 is a fossil fuel lobbyist’s dream. Permitting reform must benefit clean energy only. That means:

• Require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider climate and environmental justice impacts, as well as climate benefits.

• Respect bedrock environmental laws, with no rollbacks to community participation or environmental impact analysis.

• Clean energy we need must not come at the expense of frontline communities and existing environmental laws.

Without transmission reform, we face little chance of meeting our clean energy goals. Congress must prioritize clean energy in permit legislation, and FERC must create federal guidelines on transmission planning to ensure grid planners across the country are preparing for the clean energy future.