Wisconsin Could Lose Out As Trump Targets Clean Energy Policies
Trump poised to kill Biden program that promised $4 billion to Wisconsin by 2030.
Wisconsin Public Service, We Energies, and Madison Gas and Electric have partnered before on the 300-megawatt Badger Hollow solar farm seen here. The first 150 megawatts of that project went online on Dec. 1, 2021. Like the Paris project, the solar farm was developed by Invenergy. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Public Service
Wisconsin energy experts say President-elect Donald Trump will slow reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change and the shift to renewable energy, but not stop it entirely.
Trump, who has previously said global warming is a hoax, is likely to pull the nation out of the Paris climate agreement as he did during his first term. The accord aims to keep temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
Efforts to combat climate change and shift to renewable energy have accelerated under policies and regulations put in place by President Joe Biden’s administration. Even so, it hasn’t been enough to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, according to Greg Nemet, energy expert and public affairs professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We’re on track, but we need to really start pushing harder to get the adoption of electric vehicles, solar panels, wind power, heat pumps and all those things at a faster rate,” Nemet said. “I think what we’re looking at now is probably almost definitely slowing down.”
Morgan Edwards, assistant professor of public affairs at UW-Madison, said the slowing of emissions reductions may not be immediately evident in Wisconsin as much as they will in the long run.
“We’re locking in long-term climate impacts that we’re going to see for decades to come,” Edwards said. “That’s things like more extreme weather events, warmer winters, more irregular farming seasons, which is a big deal across the country, but (also) in this state where we have a lot of agriculture.”
Climate scientists say those effects are already being felt in Wisconsin. While it may lock in more emissions, both Nemet and Edwards note momentum is on the side of clean energy as costs have come down on solar and wind power.
“These technologies are so much cheaper than they once were, and it’s becoming increasingly more cost-effective,” Edwards said.
The election of Trump comes as the world is set to see another record-hot year and global leaders are meeting for United Nations climate talks in Azerbaijan next week. Nemet, who will speak there about innovation in low carbon technology, said that stalls conversations on climate change. Edwards said climate finance is a big topic of discussion at the talks, adding the nation can expect no new investments in efforts to combat climate change.
Trump pledged to boost oil production, rescind IRA funds
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to boost oil and gas production and indicated he will halt further funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. The landmark climate law could cost up to $1.2 trillion over the next decade to implement climate and clean energy initiatives.
“My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam,” Trump said in reference to Biden’s climate policies at an event in September. “We will rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.”
Brett Korte, staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, noted one analysis estimates the landmark climate law has spurred more than $900 million of private investment in Wisconsin. That’s according to figures from Climate Power, which was co-founded by John Podesta, who serves as a senior adviser to the president on international climate policy. Korte added the state is set to receive $4 billion for large-scale power generation by 2030, supporting more than 73,000 workers in the state’s clean energy sector.
“By pulling the rug out from those investments, both in Wisconsin and across the country, I think could do quite a bit of harm,” Korte said.
Wisconsin added almost 2,200 clean energy jobs in the first full year of the law, according to Environmental Entrepreneurs, a nonpartisan business group. It conducted a survey of more than 900 businesses nationwide that found more than half said they would lose business if the law were repealed.
The group found more than 350 major projects have been announced nationwide since the law’s passage. Bob Keefe, the group’s executive director, said that includes companies like Ingeteam in Milwaukee that expected double the orders of wind turbine generators next year because of the law.
“If the IRA and these other policies roll back, people are going to lose jobs, businesses are going to close, and Wisconsin and the rest of America is going to be less competitive with the rest of the world that is clearly on a path to shifting to a cleaner economy,” Keefe said.
However, Edwards remains optimistic the law will remain intact due to funds flowing to Republican areas, noting some GOP lawmakers in Congress have urged against its repeal.
That doesn’t include members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation. Wisconsin Republicans in the U.S. House backed a resolution earlier this year that denounced the Biden administration’s energy policies as anti-American, saying they’ve made it more difficult for families and businesses to make ends meet.
Those policies include climate regulations that limit emissions from vehicles and power plants. Clean energy advocates say rolling back those rules would make it even harder to meet climate reduction goals and continue contributing pollution that harms nearby communities.
Wisconsin could lose out under Trump term targeting climate, clean energy policies was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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So back in May the Washington Post reported,
“Former President Donald Trump recently hosted a high-stakes dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club, where he boldly pitched to top oil executives, The Washington Post reports.
Last month, he asked for a $1 billion contribution to his reelection campaign, and in return, he pledged to dismantle President Joe Biden’s environmental policies that have been a thorn in the side of the fossil fuel industry”.
So why act surprised or outraged? He is just fulfilling a campaign pledge to his donors. Just like Biden, the largest recipient of funds from AIPAC continues to support Israel despite the killing of civilians.
A thorn in the side of the fossil fuel industry. Hmm.
Just fulfilling a campaign pledge to his donors. Hmm.
Both statements minimize what is really going on with this issue. Frump has decided in his tiny brain that climate change isn’t a real thing, despite warnings for over 50 years from thousands of scientists to the contrary.
He has also chosen to take the position of lining his own political pockets with money from a few to financially benefit those few, rather than choose a path toward a much broader platform of cleaner energy production and use for the betterment of the world – which is what a true leader would do. One needs to ask how many jobs would be lost with his proposed dismantling of Biden’s environmental policies. That pesky law of unintended consequences might come into play again for the narrow-minded fool America just reelected.
Frump has never been, and likely will never be a leader. Unless leading this country back into the 1800’s is considered leadership.
Maybe his next personal money making scams can be Frump Kerosene Lamps and Frump Coal.
This is the Orban (Hungary) and Putin (Russia) model to feed a set of business oligarchs in exchange for unfettered allegiance. The level of corruption that will take place over the next four years in Washington will be frightening. America is for sale.
In this post-election phase, which seems focused on backward looking blame and what “might happen,” there are two quotes that capture the reality of what has actually happened. A clever politician once said, “Last year we stood at the edge of the precipice. This year, we’ve taken a step forward.” And an esteemed historian said “We should always beware that what now lies in the past once lay in the future.” And, in this case, that many people in Wisconsin, from plutocrats and elected officials to “ordinary” citizens will have a lot to explain about what lies ahead once it is in the past. Including to their kids about why they would spend the rest of their lives living with the irreversible consequences of climate change. Or, more accurately, climate collapse.