Climate law’s costs trigger backlash, and election problems for Manchin

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Climate law’s costs trigger backlash, and election problems for Manchin

© Drew Angerer / Getty Images

(Bill Sternberg is a veteran Washington journalist and former editorial page editor of USA Today.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — When Sen. Joe Manchin unexpectedly signed off last summer on the bold climate bill that was branded the Inflation Reduction Act, he compared it to “hitting a homer in the bottom of the ninth.” More recently, however, the West Virginia Democrat has been sounding like he wishes he’d struck out instead.

A primary reason for Manchin’s buyer’s remorse is the law’s skyrocketing price tag. At enactment, the cost of the climate-related provisions was pegged at $369 billion over 10 years. More recently, Credit Suisse estimated the price at $800 billion and Goldman Sachs put it at $1.2 trillion. Goldman forecast that tax credits for electric vehicles alone will cost $379 billion more than initially predicted and the incentives for green-energy manufacturing $156 billion more.

This level of government support for clean-energy investments is the greatest thing that has happened to climate tech. It could take the United States a long way toward meeting its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But it also creates a paradox: The more the climate law succeeds in spurring clean-energy investment, the more political danger the law will face. Cost overruns of this magnitude could harm Manchin politically, cause major problems for the Democratic Party and intensify efforts to roll back the IRA…

Subscribe to Callaway Climate Insights to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618