{"id":774358,"date":"2022-08-12T19:46:42","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T19:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=291126"},"modified":"2022-08-12T19:46:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T19:46:42","slug":"democrats-climate-bill-still-pours-gasoline-on-the-flames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/08\/12\/democrats-climate-bill-still-pours-gasoline-on-the-flames\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats\u2019 climate bill still \u2018pours gasoline on the flames\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Common<\/figure>\n
\n

This story originally appeared in Common Dreams<\/a> on Aug. 10, 2022. It is shared here with permission under a Creative Commons license.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While many environmental advocates celebrate<\/a> the Senate Democrats’ climate deal<\/a> this week, frontline activists and more critical voices continue to note that the legislation, whatever its promises and upsides, remains an inadequate response to the global emergency that will likely further harm communities already affected by fossil fuel pollution.<\/p>\n

The Senate approved<\/a> the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in a party-line vote Sunday and it is expected<\/a> to pass the Democratic-controlled House as soon as Friday.<\/p>\n

Writing<\/a> for Jacobin<\/em> in the wake of the Senate vote, Branko Marcetic called for being “clear-eyed” about the package, adding that “the urge to smooth over the IRA’s serious flaws was understandable when its prospects of passing sat on a knife edge. But after passing the Senate, it’s now overcome its biggest hurdle.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“People need to understand the realities of the bill\u2014that it’s a legislative ransom note written by a fossil fuel industry that backed<\/a> and now<\/a> celebrates<\/a> it, one we had no choice but to go along with given the political realities\u2014and that its passage isn’t only the end of one battle but the start of a new front in the war to stave off calamity.”<\/p>\n

Branko Marcetic, writing for Jacobin<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

“People need to understand the realities of the bill\u2014that it’s a legislative ransom note written by a fossil fuel industry that backed<\/a> and now<\/a> celebrates<\/a> it, one we had no choice but to go along with given the political realities\u2014and that its passage isn’t only the end of one battle but the start of a new front in the war to stave off calamity,” he wrote.<\/p>\n

Framing the Senate passage as a “bitter triumph,” The New Republic<\/em>‘s Kate Aronoff noted<\/a> that it is “a historic achievement and vitally important given that Democrats may not get to govern again for a decade” but “also consigns more people to living next to more fossil fuel infrastructure for longer; in many cases, that means consigning more people\u2014predominantly<\/a> poor people, Black people, and Brown people\u2014to disease and death<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

“The IRA’s passage doesn’t close the book on U.S. climate policy so much as open it,” she argued, making the case that it was only possible to pass any bill because of sustained activism. “As ever, the best guides to navigating what comes next will likely be the people who won it in the first place, and who’ll have to live the closest to its consequences.”<\/p>\n

Since Sunday\u2014when Democratic senators also rebuffed<\/a> an attempt by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to strip away the bill’s fossil fuel handouts\u2014frontline activists, national groups, and climate scientists have shared criticism of the legislation negotiated with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), an impediment to various progressive priorities whose personal wealth and political career are both tied to dirty energy.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

"Despite their eagerness to celebrate, establishment Democrats might be wise to listen a little more closely to those with mixed feelings [on the climate portions of the IRA]." https:\/\/t.co\/YV89aASr8c<\/a><\/p>\n

— Food & Water Watch (@foodandwater) August 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n