In the lead-up to the November election, President-elect Donald Trump threatened to “terminate” President Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, calling it the “Green New Scam.” Whether or not he kills the law, he is committed to slowing America’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy — and few Americans seem concerned.
Recent polling found that only 24 percent of registered voters felt that the Inflation Reduction Act had positively affected them. Some 19 percent said it had negative effects, 24 percent said it was a mix, 16 percent said it hadn’t affected them at all and 17 percent said they didn’t know.
If Democrats want to win voters with policies that avert catastrophic climate change, they need to bring immediate, material benefits to the working class. That means folding climate policies into an agenda that tackles the cost-of-living crisis. This is green economic populism. Even under Mr. Trump, progressives can build momentum around this agenda in cities, towns and states.
The problem with the Inflation Reduction Act was that it was an awkward compromise between neoliberal, market-based policy and government intervention. By mobilizing public investment through tax credits and other incentives, it effectively asked companies and affluent consumers to lead the transition.
The Department of Energy estimates that the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have prompted $400 billion in announced investment across the renewable energy, battery and electric car sectors, likely creating about 400,000 jobs — a welcome infusion in some places, but a rounding error overall for a labor force of 168 million people.
Yet fewer than 3 percent of all tax filers in 2023 took advantage of new credits for energy efficiency and rooftop solar; even then, the wealthiest 25 percent of households captured 66 percent of the incentives. The same thing happened with electric car purchases: Households making over $100,000 are far more likely to own electric cars than those earning less. Though the Inflation Reduction Act includes investments in disadvantaged communities, these are a tiny fraction of overall spending.