Inflation Reduction Act
Carrots Are More Durable Than Sticks
Laws like the Inflation Reduction Act may have more sticking power than regulations.
it’s hard to repeal subsidies and tax credits. We’re seeing that right now in Congress. There’s been a lot of talk by Trump and others of blowing away the IRA. But many billions of dollars of IRA investments are being made in Republican congressional districts. And this has had an effect. Subsidies won’t solve the climate crisis on their own, but they provide a solid economic and political foundation for climate policies of all kinds.
CONTINUE READINGA Framework for Equitable Climate Infrastructure Investments
Reframing Infrastructure Investments to Realize an Equitable Transition
Achieving climate goals requires significant investments in clean energy, transportation, and other climate technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have resulted in historic levels of public investment to transform existing energy and transportation systems and lay the foundation for emerging climate …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Walz-Vance Debate and Environmental Policy
After Hurricane Helene, Vance and Walz were pressed on climate change during the VP debate. Here’s everything they said on energy and the environment.
The subject of climate-fueled disasters figured prominently in the vice presidential debate. The CBS News moderators asked a question about climate change within the first few minutes, although the multi-faceted answers weren’t always factual and much of the post-debate discussion in newsrooms and spin room interviews centered on contentious yet civil exchanges on immigration and …
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CONTINUE READINGEvolving Energy Positions, 2016-2024
The national debate over climate and energy has shifted since Trump’s first run in 2016.
Coal, once a political flash point, has almost disappeared as an issue, with oil and gas production in unchallenged first place for Republicans. Clean energy subsidies, a side-issue in 2016,, have now taken center stage, while EPA regulations get much less attention. The one thing that remains unchanged is the gulf between the parties.
CONTINUE READINGUnderstanding China’s National Energy Security Strategy
How should the US compete with Chinese green development?
China’s dominance in clean technologies (solar, wind, electric vehicles, batteries) has been in the news recently (see, e.g., here and here). China accounts for more than 80% of global manufacturing capacity for solar products and batteries. Chinese companies produce 65% of EVs globally. The US has responded to this both with measures to improve US …
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CONTINUE READINGChina, Climate, and Clean Energy
China seems to have leap-frogged the U.S. on clean energy. We need to catch up.
In 2023, China accounted for about 60% of the world’s additions of solar and wind power, and of electric vehicles. The U.S. will need to make a major effort to catch up. Otherwise, we risk being shut out of important global markets and giving China an opening to influence developing countries.
CONTINUE READINGThe Tragedy of Indifference
This election will have huge consequences for climate change. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to matter that much at the polls.
The partisan divide is real: Democrats are three times more likely than Republicans to view climate change as a major threat. Even so, a quarter of Republicans agreed with Democrats on this. The problem is that only 37% (almost all Democrats) view climate change as their top priority.
CONTINUE READINGDid Democrats Follow Through?
The 2020 Democratic Platform made some big promises. Four years later, where do things stand?
Many of the climate promises in the 2020 Democratic platform were kept, and large down-payments were made toward fulfilling others. The glass is definitely more than half full.
CONTINUE READINGThe Best Reason for Optimism About Climate Action
As the saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
Renewable energy costs have plunged to an extent few people realize. If cellphone prices had dropped as fast since 2010 as the cost of solar power, you could buy a new iPhone for about thirty bucks today.
CONTINUE READING35 Major Climate Initiatives Under Biden
By any measure, it has been an eventful four years for climate policy, with billions in spending and many major regulations finalized. Here’s a timeline of the Top 30 actions.
In light of President Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race yesterday, we thought it was appropriate to update this piece about the climate legacy of the Biden-Harris Administration. In his four years in office, Donald Trump rolled back essentially every existing federal policy to limit climate change. The picture under the Biden Administration has …
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