Why the Energy Industry Doesn’t Think Trump Will Unravel All of Biden’s Climate Legacy

Those working in clean energy are hoping that some of Biden’s climate policies will be popular with Republicans if they change the way they talk about them.

Donald Trump

Jae C. Hong/AP

Under the future Donald Trump administration, the phrases “climate change” and “energy transition” will almost certainly disappear from White House policy. But clean energy advocates and industry players aren’t so sure all of Joe Biden’s climate policies will disappear.

Biden’s most aggressive energy programs were not only pitched as solutions for climate change but also as ways to increase competitiveness with China, incentivize manufacturing and create jobs in struggling coal communities. Now, climate experts and those working in the energy sector are starting to whisper: Who cares what it’s called if it gets the job done?

“If it has to be in the name of reliability and resiliency or national security or whatever, pick your flag — I don’t really care,” said Jackson Morris, the director of state power sector policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council.