When asked for comment, Manchin’s spokeswoman Sam Runyon said it could improve the efficiency of existing coal-fired power plants and employ environmental controls like scrubbers that remove pollutants from chimneys. Pointed out these provisions and another $5 billion in the package. She noted that these measures to support the coal industry are on top of the $8.5 billion for carbon capture and storage Mr. Manchin set aside last year as part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
More than a decade ago, Mr. Manchin ran a campaign ad that shot bullets at President Barack Obama’s climate plan, but ultimately failed. So when Biden took office, he knew that Manchin would be the biggest obstacle to passing an ambitious climate change bill.
Every step of the way, Mr. Manchin shaped the law.
Many Democrats wanted clean energy standards that would pay utility companies to replace coal and gas-fired power plants with renewable energy. However, Mr. Manchin opposed the bill, so it was repealed. He vetoed plans to offer big tax credits to consumers who bought union-built electric cars. The move was opposed by Toyota Motor Corporation, which operates a non-union plant in West Virginia. And he made sure the electric car tax credit wasn’t used by the richest Americans.
While Mr. Manchin scaled back, he did not eliminate the charges levied on oil and gas companies for leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from wells, pipelines and other infrastructure. He rejected early plans by Democrats to permanently ban oil drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific, leaving long-standing tax cuts for the fossil fuel industry that many Democrats wanted to end untouched. Guaranteed.
With negotiations continuing, war erupting in Ukraine and oil prices skyrocketing globally, Manchin said petrol prices must be cut and drilling increased to cut government spending. The bill’s price tag plummeted from $200 million, scrapping more than $200 billion in climate spending.
Ultimately, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York was willing to include several provisions requiring the federal government to open up more public land for drilling. At the same time, the bill would increase the royalty rates energy companies must pay to extract fossil fuels in those areas.