The climate bill Senate Democrats unveiled last week would keep the U.S. within “striking distance” of its national climate target, strengthen the Biden administration’s negotiating hand with foreign powers and lower energy costs for the public if it becomes law, according to climate analysts and advocates.
A compromise between Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., the bill includes about $370 billion in climate and energy elements to be spent over 10 years, a smaller sum than the $555 billion in climate spending included in the legislation House Democrats passed in late 2021.
While slimmer, the new bill contains elements most Democrats wanted, including a price on methane emissions, raised royalty rates on oil and gas drilling on federal land and offshore, and tax credits for zero-emissions electricity sources, such as wind and solar.
