(Quartz) Over the course of two days in July, West Virginia emerged as the perfect proxy for America’s messy reckoning with climate change. First, it moved to punish banks for divesting from old economy coal and fossil fuels; next, its senior US senator had an abrupt change of heart and supported a serious step up in investment in the transition to clean energy—including next generation nuclear power, low-emissions hydrogen fuels, incentives for electric vehicles, carbon capture for coal, and tax credits for wind and solar.
The package to secure jobs and the planet won US senator Joe Manchin’s support with provisions to shore up fossil fuels, including offshore leasing for oil and gas, and targeting wind and solar plants in areas where coal mines are closing. The legislation, which pumps hundreds of billions of dollars into low- and no-carbon technology, sends a clear message: Energy-intensive states like West Virginia have a lot more to gain than to lose if they lean into American competitiveness and economic security at home and help catalyze the new industrial revolution.
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