Trump appears determined to end climate action in America. At a time when there is so much opportunity the president appears to be moving in the wrong direction. While the leader of the free world is dragging the US backwards, forward looking governments are supporting sustainability focused innovation.
In the energy efficiency space new technologies like smart systems are allowing building owners and managers to access data in real time. Technologies like this help to identify cost saving opportunities. While this administration pays lip service to strengthening the economy they are actually hobbling the nation's economic future. No matter how you look at it this administration's energy policy is as crazy as the commander and chief. The failure to embrace the coming reality along with on reliance on energy sources with no future will have serious consequences for America's global competitiveness.
Rather than support energy efficiency this administration's policy is defined by inefficiency which entails opposition to decreasing power consumption, and reducing air pollution including climate change causing GHGs.
This government's energy policy is utterly irrational. The importance of government support for energy efficiency is obvious. A US Department of Energy report* on government bluntly stated, "leadership on energy efficiency is necessary."
Trump's resistance to energy efficiency appears to be disconnected from reality, but so is the man himself. He has proven himself to be the most dishonest and incompetent president in the history of the republic and this is reflected in the administration's energy agenda. There were questions about his competence and his sanity before he became president. Subsequently the chorus of mental health professionals questioning his fitness to lead has intensified.
Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt will go down in infamy for systematically dismantling regulations that protect the health of Americans. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his support for fossil fuels over clean power. He and his administration has actively undermined renewables to help the fossil fuel industry. In the face of declining solar prices this administration even levied tariffs to hurt the clean energy sector.
The ruling US government is dead-set against forward looking energy policy, however, this does not change the fact that government incentives are essential to scale the new climate economy. Consider the role that the US government played in the development of the American tech economy. Internet and GPS. US tech companies are still benefiting from government investments in things like the Internet and GPS.
Optimists say clean energy can succeed without government support. However, their optimism does not appear to be warranted. National energy policy has a significant effect on energy usage across all four sectors (buildings, transportation, industrial, and power). The absence of such a policy, or worse still a disadvantageous policy, seriously impedes the growth of clean energy and the green economy.
We should not expect anything positive from the Trump administration, his remaining days in office will be an escalating firestorm. At best this will keep him from focusing on further attacks on environmental protections and climate action. At worst it will serve as a smokescreen for some members of his cabinet to continue dismantling government.
Outside of this administration we are seeing positive signs including corporate action. We are seeing ongoing interest in energy efficiency from power utilities, technical experts, and consumer advocates. However, it is going to take leadership to get everyone onboard and this is precisely what we will never see from this administration.
The current US government's stalwart opposition to science based policy exposes the naivete of the hopeful. There is a powerful logic to investing in the new climate economy but we will not be able to scale it to the required size in the absence of government support.
Deregulation may give the appearance of driving a thriving economy, but this is a short term as the Trump administration is sitting out the next wave of technological innovation.
The cabal running Washington may not succeed in killing the new climate economy, but they have slowed its growth. Deregulation may give the appearance of a thriving economy, but the US is actually becoming less competitive. We need government to invest in the next generation technology, however, that will only happen if we see a change in political leadership.
* The 2009 report titled "Energy Efficiency Policy in the United States: Overview of Trends at Different Levels of Government", was written by Elizabeth Doris, Jaquelin Cochran, and Martin Vorum on behalf of the NREL, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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