For conservatives like Loris, this pile of new climate regulations creates a burden on companies, especially because the rules could be modified or overturned in court regardless of who wins in November. The threat of looming fights “results in this regulatory ping-pong and a lot of investment uncertainty, not just with the regulations themselves, but what’s going to happen with the courts,” he said.

But for the Biden White House, its climate legacy is at stake. The IRA and infrastructure bill unlocked billions of dollars in funds for projects that could put the United States on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% in 2030, but only the new rules will determine whether that possibility actually becomes reality.

That setup is what frustrates Loris. While he believes many of these energy and environment problems need to be solved, he’s irritated that Congress left so much of the “how” up to the agencies.

“My preference would be more legislation that actually looks at some of these issues and tries to address it in a more pragmatic way,” Loris said. “But I don’t think that would happen in a second Trump administration or a second Biden administration.”