the Walter Cronkite school of
journalism at Arizona state
university.
Judy: Let's dive deeper now into
the apparent agreement among
senate Democrats and what it
could mean for energy production
and the fight against climate
change.
>> This deal has substantial new
money to boost the expansion of
renewable energy and provide
more incentives for people to
buy things like electric
vehicles.
So what might the real impact of
all of this be for dealing with
climate change if it goes
through.
For perspective, we go to David
Roberts.
His podcast is called bolts.
Great to have you back.
I want to count the chickens
before they hatch.
What do you make of the contours
of this deal?
>> It is a very big and overall
good deal from the perspective
of climate.
I know people have been tracking
the build back that are --
better negotiations.
A lot of stuff has gotten cut,
diminished, or destroyed.
But the energy and climate
provisions have survived not
unscathed, but for the most part
, the bulk of the provisions in
the original build back better
are still there.
It is still by far the biggest
climate legislation that the
U.S. Has ever passed if it
passes.
>> It is hard not to note that
earlier in this broadcast we
were talking about floods and
drought and heat waves affecting
this country.
There are billions of dollars of
tax incentives to boost and ramp
up renewables, geo, thermal,
solar, wind.
Do those feel like meaningful
enough steps that could
substantially reduce America's
omissions?
-- Emissions?
>> Yes.
The best way to think about this
bill is not so much a climate
bill but an industrial policy
bill.
The main thrust is to invest in
U.S. Production and any
fracturing and markets --
manufacturing at a markets in
clean technologies.
In the process of doing that it
will reduce U.S. Emissions.
This will reduce emissions by
40% by 2030 which is a little
bit below what we promised in
Paris but not substantially
below.
This gets us on course for what
we promised in Paris.
>> Electric vehicles are a tiny
share of the market and there
are a lot of incentives to
encourage people to purchase
them.
How important is it for the
government to do that?
With this naturally happen on
its own?
>> And it comes to climate, it's
about speed.
Electric vehicles have begun
their assent.
Everyone regards it as
inevitable that they will take
over completely on some time
horizon.
The idea is to accelerate the
process and to move a lot of the
manufacturing and production of
those vehicles to the U.S. So
they create U.S. Jobs in U.S. To
mystic manufacturing.
And industrial policy is the
oldest role for government.
Governments have been doing that
since there have been
governments.
>> They had to agree to relaxing
projects.
Is that your sense that it is
the cost of doing business?
We talked at the center for
biological diversity and she
argued that these trade-offs are
unacceptable.
More emissions will be generated
from new oil and gas project and
they will hurt the most
vulnerable communities in this
country.
Is that the cost of doing
business today?
>> It is the cost of getting Joe
Manchin to sign your bill.
I have not heard of another
ability to get 50 votes for this
bill.
These provisions are somewhat
obnoxious.
But when it comes to the impact
on greenhouse gases, the
modeling is going to show the
reductions this bill will create
vastly outweigh whatever boost
in greenhouse gas emissions
might come from more leasing.
It is a poison pill.
But the overall impact is still
overwhelmingly positive.