In the month since Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, people across the country have suffered from climate-change-fueled disasters and infrastructure problems that show just how much work we still have to do to secure climate justice. Flooding in Kentucky, wildfires in California, a water crisis in Mississippi—these and other devastating events and chronic problems remind us just how important the investments in the Inflation Reduction Act are.

Even while we at the Sierra Club are aware of how much work is ahead of us, it’s also important to sometimes take a deep breath and celebrate the accomplishments we’ve made.

And that’s what we did on Tuesday afternoon, when nearly 20 Sierra Club national and chapter staffers and organization volunteer leaders joined President Biden at a White House event marking the historic victory for climate, jobs, and justice that the IRA represents. The celebration on the White House’s South Lawn felt like the culmination of decades of movement building. We were all there sweating under the sun—environmentalists, trade union organizers, advocates for seniors, and public health activists. (Don’t forget that in addition to its climate provisions, the IRA also makes major investments in our health care system and lowers the costs of prescription drugs.) Altogether, the mood was one of solidarity and achievement. It was a reminder that we can still get big things done in this country.

At the celebration, President Biden was on fire. He took off his suit jacket and delivered a stemwinder of a speech.

“I want to take the most aggressive action ever, ever, ever to confront the climate crisis and increase our energy security, ever in the whole world,” Biden told the crowd. “And that’s not hyperbole.”

The president also declared, “With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost.”

That’s 100 percent right. The Inflation Reduction Act marks a turning of the tide against the fossil fuel industry and toward a healthier, cleaner, and more just future for all communities. It provides crucial investments to drive climate action, environmental justice, family-sustaining union jobs, and a transition to a 100 percent clean economy. On a tangible level, families across the country will soon save money on everything from electric vehicles to utility bills to home solar panels.

From left: Ross Macfarlane, Sierra Club board of directors; Bob Bingaman, Sierra Club director of grassroots power building; Leslie Fields, Sierra Club director of legal, policy, and advocacy. | Photo courtesy of the Sierra Club

At the same time, the IRA contains oil and gas leasing provisions that could continue to place a heavy burden on frontline communities in places like the Gulf South that have already suffered decades of disproportionate pollution and health consequences. No community in America should be a sacrifice zone. No family should suffer negative health effects from lack of clean air and water. Communities of color, low-income communities, and Indigenous communities cannot continue to bear the burden of the country’s voracious appetite for fossil fuels and goods manufactured in polluting factories.

The Sierra Club will continue to do everything in our power to defend against the harmful effects of fossil fuel development, mitigate climate-fueled disasters, and ensure environmental justice in every community. Through the Justice 40 initiative, we will make environmental justice a reality in every community by aligning with our state and local partners on the ground. Our success will result in 40 percent of federal agency funding going to historically marginalized communities to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, create family-sustaining jobs, and clean up legacy pollution issues that have plagued communities for decades.

We will also continue to fight tooth and nail against the polluter loophole bill, a side deal negotiated between Senate leadership and Senator Joe Manchin in exchange for his support of the IRA, which would gut bedrock environmental protections and endanger public health, fast-track fossil fuels, and push approval for the fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Late last week, hundreds of frontline activists from Appalachia and across the country came together on Capitol Hill to demand that congressional leaders decouple this toxic bill from any must-pass legislation and reject it altogether. We were proud to stand with them at this powerful action last week and will continue to work to ensure that this dangerous legislation is never passed.

While we take this moment to share gratitude for everyone—from grassroots individuals to congressional champs—who got the Inflation Reduction Act across the finish line, we know that this is a marathon, not a sprint. The road to a future where every single person can thrive is a long one. We know that we will get there, along with all of you—and that there will be many more celebrations to come.