: Why the World Is Protesting Americas Climate Plan #WorldNEWS The U. S. came to last year’s United Nations climate conference in Sharm El-Sheik Egypt riding high. Finally, the country had passed

Why the World Is Protesting Americas Climate Plan #WorldNEWS
The U. S. came to last year’s United Nations climate conference in Sharm El-Sheik Egypt riding high. Finally, the country had passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a 9 billion dollar spending package designed to put the country on a path to eliminate its carbon emissions.
But, a few short months later, administration officials and members of Congress faced a range of questions and complaints about the landmark law. Why doesn’t it include funding to help countries most vulnerable to climate change? Could a future Republican Party undo it? Perhaps the most biting question came from allies: why does the law throw some of the U. S. ’s closest partners under the bus?

One South Korean official called the law a “betrayal. ” In the midst of the conference in Egypt, the EU dropped an extensive document complaining of “problematic” tax provisions that would harm the bloc’s industry. Japan said the law might stop its car companies from investing in the U. S. In December, Amitabh Kant, the Indian government official charged with leading this year’s G20 summit, joined the chorus, telling me the law represents “the most protectionist act ever drafted in the world. ” He called on the U. S. to rethink provisions that favor U. S. manufacturing and “find a way out for its trusted partners,” including India.
The attacks are, on their face, startling. The U. S. has faced criticism for decades for failing to implement policies to cut its emissions and address the scale of climate change. Now it is being attacked for doing just that.
But the pushback is also an inevitable consequence of Americas long-awaited and full-throated embrace of climate policy. Building a clean energy economy from the ground up was always going to require new materials, supply chains, and manufacturing facilities—and new trade rules to accompany them.
Now, the attention turns to how the U. S. —and its partners and competitors—reconcile climate and trade considerations. A deft handling would support new investments in climate technology from governments across the globe, creating jobs and expanding economies at the same time. A poor handling would doom both the economy and decarbonization efforts. “We obviously need to manage this so it doesnt go off the rails,” says Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the international climate think tank E3G. “But clearly part of the context here is that there is enough to go around in terms of growing markets, growing technologies. ”
You would be forgiven for being surprised that the world turned against the IRA. For years, decades even, countries called on the U.