Joe Biden’s signature legislation passes the Senate, at last

“This has been decades in the making, and it will reshape the decades ahead.” That is how Fred Krupp, a longtime champion of congressional action on climate change as head of the Environmental Defence Fund, a green group, describes the Inflation Reduction Act (ira). Mr Krupp and his fellow advocates have watched every bold American climate proposal of the past few decades flop. Now they have real grounds for optimism.

On August 7th the Senate passed the ira; the House of Representatives is expected to follow suit within days. Once law, the act will shower $369bn of subsidies and tax credits over the course of a decade on renewable energy and electric vehicles, hydrogen hubs, carbon capture and storage, and more. It is the largest package of climate spending in American history.