Climate policy is about to take a back seat in DC — here’s what we can do about it

It’s hardly a big secret that climate policy will not be a priority of the incoming Trump administration. The president-elect has made clear throughout both the 2024 campaign and his longer political career that he doesn’t see reducing carbon pollution to be an important issue (to put it mildly), and he has promised to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, the global compact designed to cooperatively confront the effects of climate change — just as he did in his first term.

What does the next administration care about, then? Manufacturing jobs, reducing costs and competing with China — including through trade — all come quickly to mind.

Many of us who have worked to advance clean energy solutions agree with those priorities. So do the many businesses and investors who have become champions of climate and clean energy policy precisely because they recognize that it delivers clear economic, financial and business benefits that are in the national interest.

That is going to be the model for building on the climate progress we’ve seen in recent years. While a change in power in Washington will move climate change to the backburner, there will be opportunities to work with both parties on federal policies that are good for both the climate and the U.S. economy. Here are a few:

Maintaining clean energy tax credits

Sure, the clean energy tax credits and incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 were passed along partisan lines by Democrats in 2022. But historically, clean energy incentives have enjoyed bipartisan support. And since the Inflation Reduction Act became law, they are helping to achieve several bipartisan priorities.

We’re talking hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment and hundreds of thousands of new jobs to manufacture and deploy clean energy, with the lion’s share falling in congressional districts held by Republicans. These tax credits are helping to restore American industry, make energy more affordable, and build out domestic supply chains to ensure that U.S. workers can compete and win in the global marketplace.

That’s why, today, these tax credits have seen growing bipartisan support in Congress. With businesses and investors making the case for retaining these policies, more than a dozen Republican members of the next Congress have already called for their preservation, not necessarily because of their value to fighting climate change but because of their economic value. As Congress gears up for a major tax negotiation in 2025, these developments give hope that clean energy tax credits will survive.

Speeding up energy delivery

Electricity demand is rising across the U.S. and it is essential that we meet it to grow our economy and keep energy prices affordable. Clean energy is the lowest-cost way to provide it — especially with tax credits unleashing even more private investment to build it. The key is getting it onto the grid to serve American businesses and families at a good price.

Throughout 2024, Congress saw bipartisan negotiations to speed up permitting and infrastructure siting that would, in part, make it more efficient to build transmission lines to deliver abundant, affordable and reliable American-made clean energy. These negotiations seem ripe for further progress in the next Congress.

Supporting U.S. farmers

The latest update to the Farm Bill is now delayed by more than a year and will need to be a priority in the next Congress. It provides a major bipartisan opportunity to support programs that uplift farmers as stewards of conservation. A bill that helps farmers adopt practices to address climate, water and nature challenges would invest in rural communities and build more resilience and security into our food and agricultural systems — meeting the needs of major food and apparel companies that are looking to strengthen their supply chains and delivering benefits to food producers and their communities.

Putting a price on dirty imports

Tariffs have become a key buzzword in Washington, and the opportunity to restore American manufacturing also presents opportunities to reduce global emissions. In recognition that U.S. environmental standards are strong and domestic manufacturing is cleaner than in many other countries, both Republicans and Democrats have put forward proposals for a “carbon border adjustment mechanism.” By tracking the climate pollution associated with products made overseas, this policy would allow America to put a price on those products that do meet U.S. standards.

It’s an idea with broad benefits across the political spectrum, from supporting U.S. manufacturing and industry to driving down global pollution to raising revenue that can help reduce the deficit, that gives it a real chance to emerge in a changed political landscape.

Zach Friedman is senior director of federal policy at sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

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