This Taught Me a Lot About How Decarbonization Is Really Going
The Inflation Reduction Act was the largest piece of climate legislation ever passed in the United States, setting aside hundreds of billions of dollars for decarbonizing the economy. But the money was always just a first step. The fate of the act\u2019s goals hinges on whether those investments can build the energy system of the future \u2014 everything from transmission lines and wind farms to electric vehicle factories and green hydrogen hubs.\n\nIt\u2019s now been almost a year since the I.R.A.\u2019s passage. So, how\u2019s it going? Are we on track for a decarbonized economy?\n\nRobinson Meyer is a contributing writer to Times Opinion and the founding executive editor of Heatmap, a new publication covering the ins-and-outs of decarbonization in America. We discuss why estimates of the I.R.A.\u2019s investments vary so drastically, whether the Biden administration is being too timid in how it gives out the money, the collision between the investments we need to decarbonize and the laws intended to protect the environment, why permitting has proved to be such a debilitating obstacle, why red states are projected to attract almost double the I.R.A. investments compared to blue states (and how that could pose a thorny political problem for the Biden administration), whether the country can decarbonize while competing with China and much more.\n\nMentioned:\n\n\u201cPathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen\u201d by U.S. Department of Energy\n\n\u201cThe Greens\u2019 Dilemma: Building Tomorrow\u2019s Climate Infrastructure Today\u201d by J. B. Ruhl and James E. Salzman\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nThe Ends of the World by Peter Brannen\n\nClimate Shock by Gernot Wagner and Martin L. Weitzman\n\nShorting the Grid by Meredith Angwin\n\nListen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at\xa0nytimes.com/audioapp\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. The show\u2019s production team includes Emefa Agawu, Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld, Rog\xe9 Karma and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.