The Biden administration is launching a shift in climate policy Monday with the awarding of $6 billion in grants to decarbonize the industrial sector with money going to a macaroni plant in Illinois and a blast furnace in Ohio.
Cutting the carbon emissions of industry, particularly cement and steel, have long been viewed as an essential piece of reducing U.S. contributions to climate change. Three years into his presidency, President Joe Biden has centered climate policy on cutting transportation and power plant emissions.
The Department of Energy is giving out $6 billion for projects that aim to demonstrate how to cut the carbon emissions of cement, steel, iron and other industries that account for about a third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called it the “single largest industrial decarbonization investment in American history.”
The grants will “slash emissions in some of the highest emitting sectors” including iron and steel; aluminum; cement; concrete; chemicals; food and beverages; and pulp and paper, Granholm said on a conference call with reporters.
