Experts warn US made major mistake by repealing this transformative law: 'Core obstacle'

The United States has taken a major step backward in the clean energy transition, but experts at Foreign Affairs say the bigger picture still offers hope.

On July 4, a bill signed by President Trump cut around $500 billion in clean energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, dealing a heavy blow to the most ambitious climate policy in U.S. history.

The move was widely criticized by both environmental advocates and business leaders, especially in states where wind, solar, and electric vehicle investment had been growing rapidly thanks to IRA tax credits.

But while the repeal is a serious setback, researchers say it doesn't mean the strategy behind the IRA has failed. In fact, it may highlight what needs to happen next.

What is the Inflation Reduction Act?

The Inflation Reduction Act is a landmark 2022 law that, among other things, aimed to lower pollution and fight the effects of global overheating by offering government support to companies investing in clean energy.

These included incentives for industries like solar and wind power, electric vehicle manufacturing, battery storage, and even geothermal and nuclear energy.

Unlike past climate efforts, the IRA was designed not just around environmental goals but around economic opportunity. It brought together an unlikely coalition of traditional climate advocates and major industries, many of which had historically resisted change.

Part of this support included ensuring a proper transition for dirty fuel workers into clean energy jobs, a strategy that, according to Planet Forward, garnered industry-wide success. 

Why does this strategy matter?

The most important development to note is that industries that could go green became powerful allies in the climate fight.

These "decarbonizable" industries saw the writing on the wall. Rather than fight new climate policies, they accepted government incentives to switch to cleaner technologies.

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This occurred both to future-proof their businesses and to compete with global leaders like China, which had already made massive investments in renewable energy. As a result, the IRA created a framework that made climate action politically viable in a country where it had long stalled.

"The core obstacle to climate action has never been public attitudes, long-term economic concerns, or a failure of diplomacy," said the authors of the Foreign Affairs analysis, pointing to industrial opposition. 

What happens now?

Despite the IRA cuts, many clean energy incentives still survived, including support for geothermal, nuclear, and clean manufacturing.

In other wealthy countries, similar policies are gaining traction as well.

To protect future progress, experts say policymakers must speed up permitting and funding timelines so communities see benefits faster. The Inflation Reduction Act may have been weakened, but the blueprint it created still works, according to Foreign Affairs.

By aligning economic interests with environmental goals, it proved that serious climate action is possible and popular. The challenge now is making that progress stick.

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