(In other words, here we go again…)
Image Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/climate/data-centers-pollution-trump-ai-energy.html
On Wednesday, a group of Senators introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). The bill aims to reform the federal environmental review and permitting process for energy projects in the US. The release was notable for including a diverse list of co-sponsors, including climate champion Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and climate critic extraordinaire Senator Mike Lee.
If you’re like me, your feed has been overflowing with debates and discussion of this proposed bill since it was released. There are a number of really good reviews already out there. I suggest reading both the thoughtful overview by Bill McKibben and this broad explainer by the folks at Heatmap to get an understanding of what’s included in the bill.
Instead of giving a general overview, I want to talk about why this deal provides clear evidence that the US system is not designed to represent the people’s interests and not prepared to protect us from the dangers of our warming world. We are living through another moment where the Democrats are prepared to bind clean energy growth to the expansion of fossil fuels in the US.
In other words, the BAAJA is the same devil’s bargain that was made during the Biden Administration to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As a reminder, the IRA was a compromise bill that made it possible to pass climate legislation (for the first time ever in the US). Here’s what I wrote about the IRA in Saving Ourselves (2024: page 10):
“It is important to remember that this bill [the IRA] only made it to President Biden’s desk for signature due to giveaways to the fossil fuel industry that were brokered by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. Accordingly, even with this new policy, the country is still not on a path to fulfill its climate commitments that are needed to stabilize global warming at the 1.5 degree threshold set by the Paris Agreement.”
Senator Joe Manchin highlighted those wins for fossil fuels in September 2023 when he proudly announced: “Because of the IRA We Are Producing Fossil Fuels at Record Levels.” The bargain brokered to make the IRA possible empowered fossil fuel interests, even under the Democratic Biden Administration when the Democrats held the majority in both houses of the US Congress.
Today in 2026, efforts by fossil fuel interests to stop the clean energy revolution and keep us all addicted to their dirty energy are on full display. Watching the Democrats argue once again that climate goals can be reached by making deals with fossil fuel interests (and those in their pockets) should be giving everyone flashbacks.
Witnessing the campaign to get this bill passed is a clear reminder that until we get money out of politics in the United States, corporate interests will dominate over citizen concerns. The best we can do in this current system is make compromises that expand clean energy capacity while simultaneously building out more fossil fuel infrastructure. As is abundantly clear, this type of devil’s bargain will never give the people the power they deserve in our democracy, nor will it address the climate crisis at the level it requires.
