The Inflation Reduction Act would not have happened without the movement for a Green New Deal, but it shouldn’t be confused for one. The climate left (broadly defined) now faces a novel problem: how to deal with having won something—and keep fighting for more. It’s understandably hard for those who supported Green New Deal proposals for transformative investments in public goods to see the IRA—a bundle of tax credits whose benefits accrue largely to corporations—as a consolation prize. For the many climate hawks galvanized by Bernie Sanders’s bid for the Democratic nomination in 2020, it’s also a far cry from what, for a moment, looked to be within striking distance: governing power.

如果没有绿色新政运动，通货膨胀减少法案就不会发生，但它不应该被混淆。左派（广义上的）气候现在面临一个新问题：如何应对已经赢得的东西——并继续争取更多。可以理解，对于那些支持对公共产品进行变革性投资的绿色新政提议的人来说，很难将 IRA——一大堆税收抵免的收益主要归于企业——视为安慰奖。对于伯尼·桑德斯 (Bernie Sanders) 争取 2020 年民主党总统候选人提名而激起的许多气候鹰派人士来说，这与一度看起来触手可及的东西相去甚远：执政权力。