Climate winners and losers as the Inflation Reduction Act hits 1-year anniversary

This week marks one year since the Biden White House and congressional Democrats maneuvered the Inflation Reduction Act into law in a narrowly divided Washington.

The IRA is a broad federal spending initiative with a name that gives little clue to what’s inside — pages loaded with climate-minded energy incentives and tax savings for businesses and individuals. Still, its passage, following an infrastructure bill that sent money to widening the electric-vehicle charging network, earned President Biden a reputation as a “climate president” on the global stage, vital for a global issue like climate change.

Even one year in, the IRA’s ongoing tweaks and stretched out implementation leave some Americans wondering just how tax sweeteners for electric vehicles, solar, heat pumps and more actually work.

Republicans, for their part, see the anniversary as an opportunity to promote a different plan. Namely, greater U.S. energy independence, replete with domestic oil CL00, -1.54% and natural gas NG00, -2.41% production alongside private-sector growth for wind, solar, nuclear and hydrogen. The GOP is primed to slash the IRA’s green spending should they win a 2024 majority.