Why Microsoft is a company to watch on climate policy

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this summer has ushered in a new era of bold climate policy — at the federal, state and local levels. The IRA, while flawed, is potentially transformational, but only if we move quickly with implementation and follow up with policies that go further. What we learned in the past year is that the corporate sector is integral to continued momentum for policy change. One influential company (and the only Big Tech firm to back the IRA before its passage) has the potential to play a catalytic role in the coming policy battles: Microsoft. The technology giant could play an important role in upcoming policies, but it has some baggage to handle first.