contents
The climate and tax bill has practically risen from the dead. And therein lies a surprise: The Democrats not only rely on renewable energy such as solar or wind, but also make federal land available for the production of oil and gas. Instead of “either or”, she uses “and”.
The bill now passed by the Senate is what remains of Joe Biden’s failed 2 trillion mega-package (“Build back better”). The reason for the failure were two Democrats: Kyrsten Sinema and especially Joe Manchin. Manchin hails from the coal, oil and gas rich state of West Virginia. The package was considered dead – until the end of July, Joe Manchin surprisingly announced a massively slimmed-down compromise with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. A climate protection package with the promise of additional production land for the oil and gas industry. – a gift to the fossil industry, criticize climate protectors.
America First is not going away
However, non-partisan research institutes have calculated that the package will enable the United States to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 40 percent below the 2005 level by 2030. That’s not far from the goal that Joe Biden formulated at the Paris climate conference: reduce emissions by half.
The method: An incentive system for companies and private individuals to switch to climate-friendly energy. The proposal wants to make climate-friendly products more affordable, especially with tax credits: there are up to 7,500 dollars for an electric car, credits for a heat pump, for solar cells or house insulation. At the same time, the US government wants to strengthen production in its own country: the discounts are available for cars “Made in the USA” and with a certain proportion of raw materials from the USA. The US wants to become more independent from China and create more jobs in its own country. With the same goal, they recently passed a bill to boost the chip industry. It’s the Democrat version of Donald Trump’s “America First.”
A rare hit when it comes to climate protection
What the package hardly does, contrary to its name “Inflation Reduction Act”: reduce inflation. This is pure marketing. But it probably won’t fuel inflation either. The proposal will be financed and the budget deficit reduced by tax increases for large corporations and share buybacks.
For a long time, legislative initiatives were blocked by the narrow majority in the Senate. In view of this, the package is a rare hit for climate protection in the USA. In all likelihood, it will also get through in the House of Representatives. Republicans are gritting their teeth over the tax hikes. The fact that the package with the “and” strategy allows gas production to be expanded somewhat should also be an easy toad for climate protectionists in view of the energy crisis in Europe.