Ben Beachy

Senior Fellow at Global Fund for a New Economy. Previously: White House, BlueGreen Alliance, Sierra Club, Public Citizen. Bluesky: @ben-beachy.bsky.social.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Want a blueprint for pivoting from climate rollbacks to a strategic climate offense?

That's my focus in a new article out today in @DemJournal. Check it out in the reply!

The path forward is a new climate agenda written not about impacted workers & communities, but by them.
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[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

If you'd like a break from doomerism, @monica_debolle & I had a good time recording this new @PIIE podcast to explore potential paths forward for climate policy.

We touched on IRA lessons learned, abundance, bottom-up policy design, & yes...bagels.

https://t.co/euiDTH8zf6

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

It's Climate Week in NYC, home of the everything bagel.

Time for an everything bagel-themed take on the path forward for climate policy.

Check it out:

https://t.co/AibFatMWDs

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Here's the link. I welcome your questions, counterarguments, & diatribes.

https://t.co/AibFatNut0

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Want a blueprint for pivoting from climate rollbacks to a strategic climate offense?

That's my focus in a new article out today in @DemJournal. Check it out in the reply!

The path forward is a new climate agenda written not about impacted workers & communities, but by them.
ㅤ

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

What's the path forward for climate & clean energy policy?

Tune in to this symposium tomorrow, where a few of us will offer ideas for what comes next.

Livestream link below. Climate panel starts at 11:20am.

[Institute for Policy Studies @IPS_DC]

🎙️ NEW: Join us for the 2nd Annual Henry A. Wallace Symposium!

📍@UofCalifornia Washington Center or online
📅 Thurs, July 17
🕑 10 am - 6 pm ET

Lawmakers, movements, experts, and activists will go in depth on building our progressive future. Register: https://t.co/K3I9CuPpvp

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

If you're in DC and abundance-curious, you might like this panel & happy hour tomorrow evening.

We'll discuss policies that would deliver abundance vs. those that would take us backwards, moderated by Claire Jones of the Financial Times (@senoj_erialc).

https://t.co/S3FrA4yBu0

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Today's vote spells anxiety & sickness for millions.

But it's not over. Voters don't like it when politicians help the rich by axing affordable healthcare, groceries, & electricity.

We'll fight this till we win. The GOP can wreak havoc, but they can't unbend the arc of history.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Crafting a plan for clean energy abundance requires precision, not abstraction.

We need to add industrial policies, end parochial restrictions, & use the labor/equity ingredients of the "everything bagel."

To actually deliver abundance, let's differentiate between those needs.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Labor & equity incentives didn't deter clean energy firms from applying for up to 10x the available IRA funding.

And post-IRA data show potential for a win-win-win: ~100GW of clean energy built, unprecedented clean energy union density, & 75% of $ going to low-income counties.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Delay #5: Workforce shortages

Solution: Use policies that ensure fair wages for construction workers, which also support workforce retention in a tight labor market. Wage standards were also part of the IRA "everything bagel," given they advance both jobs & deployment goals.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

They taste good because they combine ingredients that go well together.

The question — whether for bagels or policies — is, are we using congruent ingredients?

Clean energy, union jobs, & equitable investments — like garlic, onion, & poppy seeds — can indeed pair well together.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

The "abundance" debate has been long on narrative, but short on precise solutions.

What would a data-backed agenda for clean energy abundance look like?

In many cases, it'd mean more policy, not less — despite some "abundance" claims.

My piece in @heatmap_news has examples:🧵

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

A common "abundance" critique of the IRA is that the law's core strategy — uniting climate, jobs, & justice goals — tries to do too much.

Such "everything bagel" policymaking is said to slow clean energy deployment.

But here's the thing about everything bagels: They taste good.

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

The article names broadly-backed remedies for 5 major clean energy delays.

While some "abundance" fans call for policy rollbacks, fixing these delays often requires the opposite.

Here's the link. Come for the policy debate. Stay for the bagel metaphors.
https://t.co/Hin7couPEJ

[Ben Beachy @Ben_Beachy]

Despite some "abundance" claims, many clean energy delays point not to an excess of policymaking, but an absence.

I lay out a data-backed agenda for clean energy abundance in this new piece for @heatmap_news

In many cases, we need more policy, not less.

https://t.co/Hin7couhPb