Leading environmental groups have made the case for why the IRA is good for business, especially for corporations that set ambitious science-based targets to reduce their own emissions. The IRA legislation will help decarbonize the power grid and grow renewable infrastructure, which will help support the decarbonization of supply chains. Further, the tax credit in the bill provides incentives to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.

Yet the business community has a mixed response to the legislation. Much of the IRA will be funded by a 15 percent minimum tax on corporate profits for companies that make over $1 billion in profit annually and a one percent tax on all corporate share buybacks. The corporate income tax provision is intended to address a longstanding problem of large corporations paying little to no taxes. Leading financial analysists predict these measures will have minimal impact on corporate profits and gross domestic product (GDP) over the next few years.

The Business Roundtable, however, disagrees. In a statement, the BRT clarified that while it supports the climate policies in the bill, the minimum corporate tax would “suppress domestic investment when increased investment is needed to spur a strong recovery” and “undermine the competitiveness of America’s exporters.”

In a counter argument, environmental groups cite the huge costs of extreme weather and climate-related disasters on business, including impacts on workers, facilities and supply chains. In a letter to Congress organized by sustainability nonprofit Ceres, more than 40 business leaders threw their support behind the IRA, saying that “while these investments must be paid for, the economic benefits outweigh the costs.” Businesses in support of the IRA cite the opportunity for innovation and job creation in the green economy as a key benefit of the legislation, not to mention the positive environmental impact.