People argue, with good reason, about the name of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Will anything in this mammoth law really reduce inflation? Who can say?

But what one can say, with confidence, is that the IRA will strengthen, not diminish, America’s battlements against climate change. It makes an unprecedented $369 billion investment in a wide range of programs to develop clean-energy options as well as fund adaptations and other projects to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Of great interest to Hawaii residents are programs to put solar-energy upgrades to homes within reach of more local households. That’s of particular consumer concern now, following Thursday’s shutdown of the AES Corp. coal-fired electrical plant in Kalaeloa.

Its power yield for now is being replaced with oil-generated electricity, for which ratepayers are being charged a higher price. Because of how the Ukraine-Russia war has driven up oil prices, Hawaiian Electric Co. had anticipated that Oahu customer bills would start coming in about 7% higher. The more recent easing in fuel costs last week led to a HECO announcement that expected increases would be 4% instead.

Even so, Hawaii residents should seize opportunities to bring their household costs under greater control, and the IRA does offer those.

A key champion of the initiatives, Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz called this a significant move because it achieves a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030. That’s a good distance toward the federal government’s 50% reduction goal, Schatz said.

“For the very first time in history we can say with a straight face that the federal government is taking meaningful climate action that is equal to the task,” Schatz added last week on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” webcast.

Among the bill’s features specific to the islands is the $25 million allotment to underwrite Native Hawaiian programs aimed at increasing resilience to climate change.

Nonprofits serving Native Hawaiians also may apply for grants from this fund “for coastal community climate resilience, forest restoration and conservation, deployment of zero-emission technologies, and environmental and climate justice block grants,” according to the senator’s Aug. 9 announcement.

Especially promising for residents of this high-cost state, however, are the extension and expansion of key tax credits accessible to individuals and families, iincluding:

>> An extension of the residential clean energy tax credit for 10 years at the full 30% rate, which can help cover costs of rooftop solar and battery storage.

>> Access to $9 billion in new rebates for home electrification projects.

>> Renewing the expired energy-efficiency home improvement credit and increasing its limit from $500 lifetime to $1,200 annually per taxpayer. These credits can apply to upgrades such as heat pumps and improved doors and windows.

There also are expanded electric vehicle tax credits, but these will not be as easy to tap, at least initially. They won’t apply to purchases unless the final assembly of the EV is in North America.

While this might not be an immediate boon for buyers, knowing that customers have support should incentivize the American automotive industry to ramp up manufacturing domestically.

For Hawaii, which is optimally positioned to be a world leader in the transition away from carbon-emitting technologies, the IRA offers a boost toward the state’s own aggressive clean-energy targets. For its potential aid to families’ pocketbook worries as well as to the environment, this is a law, and a position, Hawaii’s leadership must embrace.