US climate bill is welcomed internationally but still criticized for not going far enough
CNNCNN — The Democrats’ $369 billion climate package, the largest such investment in US history, could have significant implications for global greenhouse gas emissions and the US’ standing in the world, after months of uncertainty in Congress undermined the Biden administration’s claims that “America is back.” US officials are hoping it puts them in a better position for difficult negotiations to come: the international climate talks in Egypt this fall. “The issues that are still key in the discussions are not really addressed by this bill – there’s nothing in the bill on international climate finance, which is a bit worrying,” Ward said. “It makes it a lot harder for laggard countries to claim that the US is talking out of both sides of its mouth – and use that as an excuse to sit on the sidelines.” China-US tensions could overshadow progress While the bill allocates a historic amount of money to climate and clean energy, it’s also trying to achieve something bigger – competitiveness with China in renewables and manufacturing jobs at home, too. Sam Geall, CEO of the think tank China Dialogue, told CNN that he doesn’t believe the US legislation would have had much of an impact on China’s climate decisions.