Clean energy is booming. We’re about to waste almost all of it.
The Agenda
One year since the U.S. passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most ambitious climate bill in the country’s history, clean energy is booming. Especially in Texas — which might come a surprise given the crucial role the oil industry plays in the state.
But Texas also tells the future about where we’re headed. The world is not moving fast enough: if the the US doesn’t dramatically speed up, it will miss its climate goals.
And even if the government makes building energy transition projects easier in the rest of the country, the experience in Texas can be sobering. The backlash has just begun. Every single energy transition project will be in somebody’s backyard or in their farmland, and there’s a massive fight playing out.
Our newest episode of the Agenda dives deep on Texas, where our clean energy transition future is already playing out. Watch the full video on our YouTube channel, and you can click here to subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.
NOW WHAT?
Semafor’s Tim McDonnell writes about the latest in how permitting reform is progressing here. In short: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has made some changes attempting to clear its long backlog of “grid hookup” requests, but there’s been little movement on larger issues.
NOTABLE
We met Cricia through Emily Foxhall and her fantastic reporting on the renewables backlash in rural Texas.
For further reading about the split within the environmental movement about permitting reform, Robinson Meyer at Heatmap is fantastic in his latest (just like the rest of his writing). Or you can listen to an in-depth conversation between him and Ezra Klein about the topic.
And of course, sign up for NetZero that’s covering the world’s race to decarbonize twice a week here.
