Giving Compass' Take:
- Lamar Johnson discusses how U.S. clean energy growth is hindered by uncertainty around federal policy and taxation.
- What systemic issues need to be resolved to improve clean energy development on a global scale?
- Learn more about key climate justice issues and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on climate justice in your area.
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As Congressional Republicans work through the budget reconciliation process, clean energy policy experts attending DC Climate Week flagged concerns about the future of clean energy growth in the United States. Participants at the conference said that uncertainty surrounding the ultimate fate of clean energy tax credits and the end effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs is preventing U.S. companies from surpassing global competitors.
While the opening day of the city’s inaugural climate week focused on the climate and tech solutions that can help businesses and fields innovate, panels on Tuesday revealed that the current policy and tax ambiguity is negatively affecting businesses and clean energy growth.
The current lack of market certainty means that companies don’t have clarity about the financial incentives that will exist when a project is completed for clean energy growth, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said at a Tuesday panel hosted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library.
“If our businesses don’t know what to invest in, if they are totally confused and concerned by tariffs and what’s happening with the various acts of reconciliation — where you have no idea what the big, beautiful bill is going to look like — they just don’t know whether to invest or not,” Beyer said.
Beyer, who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he and Congressional Democrats would be working “to preserve all the certainty” built into the Chips and Science Act, and former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate bills for clean energy growth: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
On his first day in office, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders signaling a walkback on federal climate policy established by his predecessor, including a directive that suspended all funding disbursements related to the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Those are three big, long term pieces of security, and they’re all at risk right now,” Beyer added.
Read the full article about clean energy development by Lamar Johnson at ESG Dive.