Last Earth Day, President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S. would cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. It was a welcome declaration, albeit only a first step toward what is required to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. As this year’s Earth Day approaches, Biden’s Build Back Better bill — which could have gone at least partway toward meeting that goal — is stalled in Congress. Worse, the war in Ukraine and inflation in the U.S. have made cutting emissions politically less palatable now. The knee-jerk reaction of political leaders to produce …
