Trump’s SOTU — a missed opportunity to highlight clean energy gains.
In a speech touting economic success under his leadership, President Trump’s Feb. 4 State of the Union speech failed to credit or even mention clean energy’s benefits for our nation’s economy (or the benefits to our environment).
The president’s continued disregard for solar, wind, energy efficiency, clean vehicles and other clean technologies is disappointing. More than 115,000 clean energy jobs have been created since he was elected — and they continue to grow.
With or without the White House, there are avenues for progress on climate and clean energy in Washington. Among current legislation and proposals E2 is working to advance in Congress:
- The bipartisan American Innovation & Manufacturing (AIM) Act which would transition us away from harmful HFC’s — a potent greenhouse found in air conditioners, insulating foams and other products.
- The “Better Energy Storage Technology” (BEST) Act supporting battery storage technology, which advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and could be a part of a larger bipartisan package that includes ARPA-E Reauthorization.
- The Senate America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, which included an entire title on climate and passed out of committee unanimously last year. The House is expected to release its bill in the coming weeks, which may also provide an opportunity for bipartisan advances on climate.
- We also anticipate legislation in the House and Senate to advance soil health and carbon uptake in agriculture to complement the Soil Health Demonstration Trial that E2 worked to successfully advance in the Farm Bill.
For more details, contact E2 Federal Advocacy Director Sandra Purohit (spurohit@e2.org).
Trump’s SOTU — a missed opportunity to highlight clean energy gains. was originally published in e2org on Medium.