Climate Carveout in 'Build Back Better' Bill Dwarfs Department of Energy's Yearly Budget, Clears Way for Radical Transormation
Economists have made one fact very clear in recent weeks: The Biden administration’s claims that Democrats’ upcoming $3.5 trillion spending bill will come at no cost to everyday Americans is utterly absurd.
Nevertheless, the president himself continues to tout this massive government spending as the solution to the numerous economic problems that have developed under his own leadership.
So, how exactly is President Joe Biden’s bloated “Build Back Better” plan going to save America? What exactly is in this magic bill?
Unsurprisingly, the single largest component of the bill is the climate agenda, which sets aside a whopping $500 billion to $555 billion for “climate change mitigation,” according to a report from Axios.
The $500 billion portion of the plan dwarfs even the Department of Energy’s yearly budget which, in 2020, totaled a mere $31.7 billion, according to the department itself.
Speaking with Axios, Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii confirmed the bill’s massive size, saying, “This will be, just as a matter of fact, the biggest climate bill in human history. At least half a trillion dollars.”
A source familiar with the climate section of the bill told Axios that the following provisions would be included:
- “New grants and loans to support industrial sector decarbonization, in addition to expanding relevant tax credits to support this goal.”
- “Manufacturing credits to help grow domestic supply chains for solar, offshore, and onshore wind. Some of those credits will be targeted to the auto and energy communities.”
- “Expanding access to rooftop solar and home electrification.”
- “Expanding grants and loans to rural co-ops to boost clean energy and energy efficiency.”
- “Expanding grants and loans in the agriculture sectors to help them shift to clean energy providers with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”
It’s not exactly clear how any of these provisions will help the average American currently dealing with rising inflation and an escalating supply chain crisis.
In fact, recent reports from across the country regarding an overreliance on green energy suggest this bill may in fact exacerbate those problems.
On Thursday, journalist and author Michael Shellenberger published a series of tweets contending that climate activists (specifically referencing Greta Thunberg) — through pressuring nations to over-invest in “unreliable weather-dependent energy sources” — have created global energy shortages that are “forcing the poor to choose between food & electricity.”
Shellenberger is well known for his criticisms of the left’s climate change agenda. In June of 2020, he published the book “Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All,” in which Shellenberger argues that climate change, while very real, is not quite the existential threat politicians like Joe Biden would have you believe.
Overdependence on unreliable energies isn’t the only reason for energy shortages. Post-pandemic economic recovery resulted in higher energy demand. And too little natural gas stored on-site after a colder-than-expected winter played a role. https://t.co/LNW5XfP069
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) October 21, 2021
But the heavy investment in unreliable renewables made energy supplies more vulnerable to a single commodity’s volatility. Today’s grids mean that high gas prices cause energy price spikes and a return to the dirtiest forms of electricity production, including diesel and coal.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) October 21, 2021
While conceding that “post-pandemic economic recovery” also contributed to a “higher energy demand,” Shellenberger added that “heavy investment in unreliable renewables made energy supplies more vulnerable to a single commodity’s volatility.”
As @jordanbpeterson says, “If you don’t understand somebody’s intentions, consider the consequences of their actions.
The consequences of Greta et al.’s actions are panic, energy shortages, and rising carbon emissions.
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) October 21, 2021
“It’s obvious that Greta Thunberg and the Malthusian Axis doesn’t care about climate change. If they did, they wouldn’t be replacing nuclear plants with fossil fuels, and opposing the means for poor nations to adapt to it,” he wrote.
“As [psychologist Jordan Peterson] says, ‘If you don’t understand somebody’s intentions, consider the consequences of their actions.’ The consequences of Greta et al.’s actions are panic, energy shortages, and rising carbon emissions.”
As Democrats continue to move the nation away from reliable energy sources like fossil fuel and nuclear, they will continue to make this problem worse. And, in doing so, they’ll be forcing the American taxpayer to fork over hundreds of billions of dollars.
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