Two Years Into Biden’s Climate Plan, Emissions Are Higher Than Ever

August 16 marked the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legislation that has funneled hundreds of billions of dollars into green energy and electric vehicles. While the Act made unprecedented investments in renewable energy, it also faced criticism for being too little, too late and for compromising on fossil fuel extraction. In response, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan acknowledged the bill’s shortcomings but explained the administration’s approach: ​“We’re using every tool in our toolbox to drive down climate pollution as much as possible, as quickly as possible.”

But let’s take this anniversary to entertain a horrifying doubt: What if the toolbox itself is inadequate? What if, on the contrary, all the tools only make a dire crisis even worse? Because that’s exactly what’s happening: Two years and close to $300 billion later, what we’re seeing is that increased renewable energy investment goes hand in hand with increased fossil fuel production.