Here’s the latest on the fragile Democratic deal to massively expand clean energy investments, Ben writes. Joe Manchin’s side deal takes shape. His office circulated an outline of his agreement with Democratic leaders to speed permitting in exchange for backing the big climate bill.
- Why it matters: The permitting plan would make it easier to build all kinds of projects — including fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines but also renewables and critical minerals development.
- The intrigue: It would specifically approve the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a major — and contested — natural gas project in Manchin’s home state of West Virginia.
- What we don’t know: Whether the permitting bill will pass. It would require GOP help because, unlike the climate bill, it can’t move under the complex “reconciliation” process that’s immune from filibustering. The Washington Post notes some Democrats could defect over making new oil projects easier.
Moody’s makes the case. Here’s an interesting point in Moody’s Analytics wider analysis of the climate bill: They argue it “mitigates the economic cost of inaction.”
- They project that compared to a case with no additional climate policies, real GDP is 0.6% higher in 2050 and 2.7% higher by 2100.
- “The clear lesson is that upfront investments in addressing climate change reap substantial long-term economic benefits.”
Sinema under pressure. Corporate America has launched a two-pronged, 11th-hour assault on Democrats’ reconciliation package by targeting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), the one person that big business hopes can stop — or modify — the $740 billion bill, Axios‘ Hans Nichols reports.
Where the big climate bill stands
