Finding Much to Like in Senate Climate Deal

Environmental policy expert sifts details, estimates plan will yield real, significant emission reductions

Senate Democrats reached a sudden agreement on climate, inflation reduction, and other issues recently, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin agreeing to a package that would spend billions to boost climate change responses and make other tax and revenue changes that would more than pay for the spending over time. The proposal’s supporters say it would spend $369 billion on climate change and energy security while the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget puts the number at $385 billion. The Gazette spoke with John Holdren, who served as President Obama’s top adviser on science and technology policy and today is the Teresa and John Heinz Research Professor of Environmental Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, about the legislation and its potential impact, should it survive Senate and House scrutiny and be signed by President Biden.