Pushing the US energy transition with renewables opposition
- President Trump’s government is reducing its support for climate change protections.
- The US public is largely in favour of protecting their local environment.
- Finding common ground with a US bipartisan agreement will be key to protecting the planet we leave to our children.
Is climate change a risk for the planet?
The last decade has revealed the toll of inaction on climate change. Extreme weather has battered communities, destroyed homes and altered ecosystems. The urgency of this crisis was underscored in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Synthesis Report, 2023: “Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all. The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years.”
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were directly responsible for reducing acid rain (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide) emissions in the Adirondack mountains. In the early 1970’s both the US House and Senate overrode President Nixon’s veto of the Clean Water Act. Richard Nixon, under public pressure, created the EPA, which helped reduce smog in cities across the US.
What’s the World Economic Forum doing about the transition to clean energy?
Moving to clean energy is key to combating climate change, yet in the past five years, the energy transition has stagnated.
Energy consumption and production contribute to two-thirds of global emissions, and 81% of the global energy system is still based on fossil fuels, the same percentage as 30 years ago. Plus, improvements in the energy intensity of the global economy (the amount of energy used per unit of economic activity) are slowing. In 2018 energy intensity improved by 1.2%, the slowest rate since 2010.
Effective policies, private-sector action and public-private cooperation are needed to create a more inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure global energy system.
Benchmarking progress is essential to a successful transition. The World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index, which ranks 115 economies on how well they balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability, shows that the biggest challenge facing energy transition is the lack of readiness among the world’s largest emitters, including US, China, India and Russia. The 10 countries that score the highest in terms of readiness account for only 2.6% of global annual emissions.
Additionally, the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) is working to assemble public and private partners to further the industry transition to set heavy industry and mobility sectors on the pathway towards net-zero emissions. MPP is an initiative created by the World Economic Forum and the Energy Transitions Commission.
Is your organisation interested in working with the World Economic Forum? Find out more here.
The US public wants to keep environmental protections
Polls over the last five years clearly and consistently show that the American public supports policies that protect clean air and water.
⦁ A 2023 Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans, 55%, express “a great deal” of worry about the pollution of drinking water in the US.
Bridging the gap between the philosophies of different administrations may require a stop-gap strategy that includes fossil fuels with a lower carbon footprint. As an example, advocates for climate change might support a low-carbon fossil plant that replaces an older high-polluting fossil plant. The net result would be a lower carbon footprint across technologies.
In addition to a stop-gap strategy, renewable developers and producers need more interaction with their local communities for support. This lack of engagement has caused local communities to oppose renewable projects near their homes.
The current philosophy of opposing clean energy, which is the lowest levelized cost of energy, is not in line with financial markets or investors. The US energy policy needs to incorporate a bipartisan plan to accelerate America’s energy transition. There is a recent history of policy success with bipartisan alignment, including the Permitting Reform 2024; US senators reintroduced a bill in February 2025 to allow year-round E15 sales; the Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act, 2023; and the Circuit Act, 2025.
In March 2025, some House Republicans shared a letter with Politico in support of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act incentives. These 21 Republicans agreed that the US would benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act. Market forces with environmental protection can be a common driver for both parties. Choosing to restrict clean energy and rolling back environmental protections promotes greater risk to human health while limiting economic growth. The energy transition should not depend on one fuel source or the policy change of a new administration. Finding common ground with a bipartisan agreement will be key to protecting the planet we leave to our children.
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