(Water) cooler talk: 2024 election edition
The best stories explaining what the future of climate and clean energy looks like in a new administration.
The results of the 2024 elections have everyone in the climate space wondering: what comes next? The outlook appears grim, based on campaign promises from the newly-elected President Donald Trump. While the Biden administration brought major investment into clean technology, Trump is expected to roll back much of the policy that allowed that to happen and will be a “drill, baby, drill” leader for energy. At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act has already allocated most of its funding, much of it in red states that will want these projects to continue. There is also the fact that one of Trump’s closest allies, Elon Musk, owns Tesla, a company that profits from electric vehicles and distributed energy via VPPs.
Over the last week, there has been a great deal of writing on what the future may hold for the climate space. While there’s still a lot of uncertainty, our team rounded up the best of these stories to help our readers digest this moment.
♟️Trump’s agenda could reverse key regulations + policies
It’s no secret that neither presidential candidate was clear about their climate plans. Four years of experience and comments from the campaign trail indicate a less-than-friendly climate agenda under the next Trump administration. Canary Media and Bloomberg expect a “drill, baby, drill” philosophy, rollbacks on the Inflation Reduction Act, and potentially some aspects of the often-discussed Project 2025 like removing the mention of “climate change” in government and downsizing federal offices like the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Heatmap News outlined what to expect the Trump administration to do for energy in its first 90 days, including pulling out of the Paris Agreement, approving liquefied gas terminals, and rolling back the EPA’s rules for power plants, EVs, and trucks.
⚡There is a lot of work to do for the clean energy transition
There is some optimism about bipartisan support for the Inflation Reduction Act, which has brought clean energy investments to more red districts than blue. Tim McDonnell at Semafor reported similar sentiment around the IRA but also said there is deep anxiety about the fragility of the clean energy transition. He also noted that climate communicators and activists should look in the mirror, and try to understand why their message around these issues didn’t resonate in the 2024 election, and how they can change that for the future.
💲Investors are optimistic – and focusing on financial impact
Investors have been somewhat optimistic about the future of clean energy in the days following the election. Many say moving forward means rooting the clean energy conversation in financial outcomes. Jane Flegal of Stripe/Frontier, for example, said that now is an important time to make sure the federal government and other powerful players understand the economic benefits of key climate legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act.
Matt Eggers of Prelude Ventures said after speaking with senior GOP house members, he believes that a concerted effort could keep the majority of the IRA intact. He shared a chart that found republican districts have spent $161B from the US energy bill. There is hope from climate advocates that this spending indicates bipartisan support for the clean policies creating economic benefits in red and blue districts.
🔋Some clean industries appear durable
Not all clean tech is under threat in the wake of the election. Latitude Media has covered the clean industries that could maintain momentum in a new presidency, including clean manufacturing, EVs, and hydrogen which have a bigger presence in swing states like Pennsylvania and Georgia. They also interviewed Giana Amador of the Carbon Removal Alliance (check out our conversation from one of our first editions of The Cooler) about the bipartisan nature of carbon removal, especially with major projects popping up in red states like Louisiana and Texas. E&E News covered the energy sources that should continue to thrive, even in the event of a Republican-led Congress. While it remains to be seen which industries will be the most impacted by new policies under Trump, it’s clear that clean tech is already embedded in the economy in regions across the US.
💬#EnergyTwitter migrates to Bluesky
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and its transformation into "X," many users have sought alternative platforms that focus on open dialogue and diverse discussions. Over the last year, Bluesky has become a popular forum for energy and climate discussions, with the discussions on #EnergySky🔌 feeling like the heyday of #EnergyTwitter. The decentralized social media platform has added 1 million new users in the last week.
We’ve been spending more time on the platform and exploring different user-generated “starter packs” of accounts to follow based on topic/expertise. Here are some of our favorite starter packs so far: Electric Grid & Power Systems; Climate, Energy & Environmental Journalists; Load Growth & Data Centers; Climate VC; Bloomberg Green Journalists.
See a great story we missed about what’s next for climate? Share a comment or drop us a line at thecooler@launchsquad.com.