U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks to the media on the fifth day of the UNFCCC COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 15, 2024.
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Outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNBC that Donald Trump may decide to roll back the Biden administration’s climate-related projects, which would affect jobs in areas governed by the president-elect’s party, and urged consistency in Washington’s green transition policies.
Granholm pointed to the White House’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during Trump’s first term, a 2015 treaty in which nearly 200 governments made unbinding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (commitment to energy), Granholm said the United States has promoted projects related to the green transition pushed by members of Congress.
“We’re building all these projects right now. We’re building electric car batteries, we’re building vehicles, we’re building offshore wind turbines, we’re building solar panels. All of these are factories. These factories are located in members of Congress’ districts,” she told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Friday at the COP29 United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
She estimates that 80% of the funds in President Joe Biden’s legacy bills (the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act) are going to U.S. districts represented by Republican leadership.
“It would be a political evil to take away these opportunities when people are first being hired,” she said. She emphasized the benefits of manufacturing and noted that the business community in the world’s largest economy and oil producer now wants a clear course from Washington. its climate policy.
“This is not about moving in and out of the Paris Agreement, back and forth. Let’s have a consistent approach,” she said.
Asked for a response to Granholm’s comments, Trump transition team spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt said the president-elect would “fulfill” the promises he made on the campaign trail.
As Trump prepares to win the White House for a second time in January after defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, international focus has now turned to the future role of the United States in global climate policy. Trump, who has yet to announce his pick for U.S. energy secretary, has put hydrocarbons front and center in his policies. campaign agendapromising to “end Biden’s delays in releasing federal drilling licenses and leases needed for U.S. oil and gas production.”
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) March says The country has “produced more crude oil than any country” over the past six years to 2023, with average crude and condensate production of 12.9 million barrels per day that year, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million barrels in 2019 Daily barrel counts recorded during Trump’s first term in office.
Yet Granholm stressed on Friday that the clean transition is also “liberating” and will happen no matter who leads the White House — and that ignoring climate change could cost Washington its position as a frontrunner in the booming decarbonization industry.
“Why should we settle for second place, giving way to an economic competitor like China?” she asked. “They have an economic strategy, they want to be number one. So if we get out of the game, we’re just giving up this territory again. That’s a bad strategy for America, for workers and for communities in the country.”
As the world braces for the possibility of a second U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, some climate activists note that the green transition is now gaining a different global momentum than it was during Trump’s first time in the White House:
Dan Lashof, U.S. director of the World Resources Organization, said: “There is no denying that another Trump presidency will hinder national efforts to combat the climate crisis and protect the environment, but most U.S. state, local and private sector leaders have Commit to moving forward. stated in a statement on November 6.
“Donald Trump’s return to the White House will not be the death knell for the clean energy transition that has rapidly accelerated over the past four years.”
Granholm also pointed to potential support from Trump’s current entourage, with the president-elect choosing business tycoon Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy this week. Ramaswamy to lead the new Ministry of Government Efficiency:
“His right-hand man Musk has been a strong supporter of products that address climate change. Obviously, he is Tesla,” Granholm pointed out.
Musk’s environmental stance has been questioned over the years, from tell rolling stone The magazine considers “climate change to be the greatest threat facing humanity this century, aside from artificial intelligence” and supports a carbon tax to keep the world Hydrocarbon supplies needed Serving as a bridge to renewable energy.
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