OTTAWA – With the long-awaited passage last month of U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate legislation, America now has a plan environmentalists say will significantly reduce emissions, vaulting the U.S. from a laggard to a leader on climate change. But unlike Canada’s approach, Biden’s plan has no carbon tax, focusing instead on tax incentives to spur investments in renewable energy, incentives Canada may soon find itself under pressure to match to stay competitive. The Inflation Reduction Act, as the Biden administration’s bill is officially known, has a collection of measures, including efforts to lower drug prices and reduce forest fires, but it has nearly US$400 billion in spending on climate measures. Several independent forecasts agree it will reduce U.S. emissions by up to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, in line with Washington’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement — and the same goal Canada has pledged to meet.