More than $90 billion in green investment has poured into the US since last year’s passage of the IRA, which includes $369bn worth of tax credits, grants and loans to boost renewable energy and slash emissions.
Dismissing claims of rivalry with Europe as “hollow” because of Mr Biden’s efforts to rebuild alliances and support Ukraine, Mr Podesta argued more clean energy innovation and investment in the US would drive down costs and open up opportunities elsewhere.The climate policy veteran, who was appointed by Mr Biden in September, cited a Credit Suisse forecast that as much as $1.7tn in investment over the next 10 years could reduce the price of clean energy by some 25 per cent.
“If there’s a race here, it’s a race to deal with the climate crisis ... I think [Europeans] welcome US leadership in that race.” The IRA’s tax credits are partly designed to encourage a revival of domestic supply chains and manufacturing – an effort to reindustrialise the country’s battered rust belt and regain jobs that had been lost to Asia.“The United States clearly went too far in not paying enough attention to its industrial base,” said Mr Podesta, a senior member of both the Clinton and Obama administrations during an era of globalisation.