Midterms Move Climate Battle Beyond Washington
With the Federal government headed for gridlock, the fate of energy legislation lies with the states.
States are now the battleground for energy policy.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North AmericaIn former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, the US had a climate-change denier followed immediately by the greenest White House yet. Many states responded to the Washington whiplash with moves of their own. Under Trump, more than a dozen adopted ambitious decarbonization targets, while, under Biden, others have put anti-green laws on the books.
Recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has upped the stakes and next week’s midterms promise some variant of gridlock in Congress. That makes state-level elections, with local legislatures and governorships in most states up for grabs next week too, more important than ever in the battle over US climate policy.