While the passing of the historic Inflation Reduction Bill sees the Democrats finally progressing their agenda to combat climate change, we should also take a good look at the social changes that are needed in the US for the spend to be effective.
There is still a major behaviour gap in the country that must close, in particular the disparity between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’ – or those who are unable to access basic or advanced services.
The lower socioeconomic parts of a country will always, unfortunately, be the worst impacted by any crisis. Studies show that the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities – those who are the least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other effects of climate change.
These sections of society will also, unfortunately, have the biggest hurdles to overcome in contributing towards climate objectives, when their options are often the cheapest (and least sustainable) in order to access other essentials such as healthcare. The USA also remains a big petrol-focus led economy, with road freight and commuting absolute cornerstones of society.
It’s crucial not to be engulfed in ‘carbon tunnel vision’, and to remind ourselves that all E, S, and G aspects of sustainability are entirely interlinked, meaning we cannot drive climate change without the social changes.
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