Climate Change Package May Reach $500 Billion
Lawmakers iron out spending for infrastructure bill.
According to Energy News Network, the climate section of Democrats’ social spending package is starting to come into focus, but major question marks remain as lawmakers try to iron out the specifics before President Biden heads to Scotland for U.N. climate talks. While lawmakers are still negotiating top-line spending, the climate change provisions of the reconciliation package are likely to total more than $500 billion, a benchmark first reported by Axios last night.
A source in the advocacy community familiar with negotiations confirmed to E&E News that the number is “closer to $600 billion,” accounting for environmental justice provisions and water infrastructure language. It makes for a mixed picture, as the package — expected to fall between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in total spending — begins to solidify. Climate could ultimately make up the biggest single chunk of the bill, representing a historic investment in emissions reduction, but the mandate and pricing policies that would ensure those reductions are falling from Democrats’ grasp.
