At the Washington climate summit on April 22 and 23, John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s special envoy, summed up the philosophy of the United States: “We don’t ask anyone to make a sacrifice, it’s a chance. ” Mr. Kerry had hailed the energy shift of the planet – “The largest market in the world is opening up before our eyes” -, seeing it as an opportunity to create “Millions of good, well-paid jobs”.
Mr. Biden’s climate plan does contain regulations and some constraints, but it is above all a gigantic program of public spending in infrastructure of 2.2 trillion dollars (just over 1.8 trillion euros). ) over about ten years. It does not include any punitive tax on energy and carbon. On the contrary, it multiplies the proposals for subsidies, which earned it applause from the sectors concerned.
With one reservation, however: its financing component provokes the ire of companies. The tenant of the White House indeed plans an increase in the corporate tax rate, from 21% to 28%. The companies are backed by Republicans, who don’t want to hear about it. Negotiations are continuing; the games are open. Mr. Biden can pass in force, on condition of rallying the entirety of the fifty elected Democrats in the Senate. It is also not excluded to separate the expenditure side from the revenue side.
In the meantime, everyone – businesses and elected officials alike – wants to have their share of the pie within the framework of this plan, a mixture of social, climate and infrastructure spending. “My phone is exploding”, said in April Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transport, in an interview with New York Times. Almost all elected by Congress “May designate a road, a bridge or an airport” in their district if it is in urgent need of repair.
New energy efficiency standards
In the automotive industry, Biden intends to spend $ 174 billion on the electric vehicle – for comparison, the balance sheet total of Tesla, the overwhelming leader in the industry, stands at $ 50 billion. It plans to switch the federal park, offer tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles and, above all, install 500,000 charging stations nationwide. Without any guarantee on this point, consumers are reluctant to take the plunge. Industrialists are delighted, especially General Motors (GM), which is working hard to catch up.
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