Climate Change Policy Development: A Multiple Streams Analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

Abstract

Climate change has been on the national agenda since the late 1970s, yet until recently, little progress had been made at the federal level because of the dominance of the fossil fuel industry within the policy subsystem. In this article, we use multiple streams approach with process tracing methods to examine why significant climate policy was able to pass in 2022, despite growing polarization, when previous attempts had all failed. We examine two key case studies, the failure of Waxman-Markey in 2010 and the success of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. In 2010 some climate organizations were hesitant about cap and trade as a policy mechanism to address climate change and failed to stimulate advocacy in their grassroots. Since then, climate groups rallied around an alternative policy approach, which involves investing in clean technology inspired by the Green New Deal. Activists built significant power within the Democratic Party, evident in climate policy remaining prominent on the policy agenda at the beginning of Biden’s presidency. Moreover, media outlets have improved their coverage of extreme weather events by tying them to climate change. In short, the political dynamics changed with growing grassroots climate advocacy, motivating citizens to elect Democratic leaders capable of passing climate legislation and keeping climate high on the policy agenda.