The White House official responsible for the $369bn green funding drive, John Podesta, has dropped a bombshell, bragging that the US will make “no apologies” for prioritizing American jobs in its drive to lead the global clean energy contest, in an interview for the Financial Times.

Joe Biden’s senior clean energy advisor rebuffed claims that the US Inflation Reduction Act will divert investment and harm the EU economy, claiming that allies who have criticized the IRA should "welcome US leadership".

In the course of the interview, Podesta said, “We make no apologies for the fact that American taxpayer dollars ought to go to American investments and American jobs.” 

He further urged Europe to take accountability for developing its own clean energy sector.

“We hope that the European industrial base will succeed, but it’s up to Europe to do some of the work,” he stressed. “We’re not going to do that all for them.”

 'American jobs for American workers is front of mind'

The IRA, which was signed into law by US President Joe Biden in August 2022, commits $300 billion to deficit reduction, as well as approximately $370 billion in funding for energy security, including tax credits for US-made electric vehicles and consumer subsidies, and $80 billion to increase Internal Revenue Service tax enforcement and operations.

It is worth noting that serious concerns have been raised since Washington adopted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which many officials believe will entice crucial enterprises to invest in the US rather than the EU. 

Podesta claimed that increased renewable energy innovation and investment in the US will drive down costs and open up opportunities worldwide, dismissing allegations of rivalry with Europe as "hollow" because of Biden's efforts to repair relationships and help Ukraine.

“The challenge of dealing with the climate crisis requires . . . a transformation of the global economy on a size and scale that’s never occurred in human history so there’s plenty of room for everybody to participate in that,” he said.

“If there’s a race here, it’s a race to deal with the climate crisis . . . I think [Europeans] welcome US leadership in that race,” he stated.

He boldly said, “It’s audacious to think about a 30-year transition to a net zero global economy . . . This bill gives us the tools to begin that journey,” stressing that “American jobs for American workers is front of mind.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he criticized the United States for going too far in "not paying enough attention to its industrial base.”

The top US official confessed that relying on Chinese clean technology has created a "vulnerability" for the US and its allies, which the Biden administration is now attempting to address.

“We’ve seen in the war in Ukraine, with Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, what can happen if a country decides to use its power over the market as a weapon,” Podesta concluded, “and we’re trying to change that dynamic.”