Permitting reform could help with the climate crisis

Megan McArdle was right in her June 28 Wednesday Opinion column, The bagel-shaped dam in the way of building back better . It takes far too long to complete necessary infrastructure projects. The risks of delay are especially acute in our fight to save our planet. With the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress made the largest-ever financial investment in a key tool in our fight against climate change: renewable energy. But building a wind farm or other clean energy project has limited value if the infrastructure is not there to transmit the electricity to where it is most needed. A model from a Princeton University laboratory estimates that under the current system of federal and state regulations, we will achieve only about 20 percent of the potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions envisioned in the act. Permitting reform must occur at both the federal and state levels so that legitimate environmental and economic concerns can be addressed properly, but efficiently. Our planet depends on it. Michael N. Wilcove , Rockville