Sustainable Switch: Trump targets wind and solar cuts
This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change, diversity, and human rights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
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Hello!
The Trump administration and its climate change law rollbacks are back as the focus of today's newsletter.
This time, the Trump team took steps to rescind a Biden-era regulation that lowered fees for renewable energy projects on federal lands, saying the rule unfairly favored development of wind and solar facilities.
The rule, which was finalized in 2024, formalized a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands. Developers had complained for years that they were too high to draw investment.
The Interior Department said that the White House would review the planned rescission before it was formally proposed and opened to public comment.
The move aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's goal to undo regulations introduced by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that were aimed at expanding clean energy and addressing climate change.
Shortening approvals for oil and gas
The renewables rollbacks come as the Trump administration announced a plan to shrink the time it takes to review potential land parcels on federal lands for oil and gas development by about half, to six months, the Interior Department said.
'This policy puts us on a fast track to Energy Dominance — opening up more federal land for responsible development, cutting review times nearly in half, and sending a clear message that the United States is serious about job creation, low energy costs, and putting American energy first," Adam Suess, the Interior Department's acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a statement.
The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management said the parcel reviews, which consider whether oil and gas leasing is aligned with regional land use plans, will be conducted at the same time as congressionally mandated environmental reviews.
The acceleration of energy permitting processes on federal lands has prompted concerns from environmental groups, who argue that the policies may prioritize corporate interests over public health and environmental protection.
Pushing back
Some industry groups are pushing back against the various environmental cutbacks by the Trump administration.
Trade group Advanced Energy United, which represents a range of clean energy, transmission, technology and transportation companies including NRG, Sunrun, Enel and Microsoft, launched a national ad campaign targeting lawmakers in five states whose districts benefit from investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The House Ways and Means committee proposed the phase-out or cancellation of several lucrative subsidies from Biden's signature climate law, the IRA.
On the block are several related to wind and solar power, hydrogen, and other technologies meant to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The ads, which specify how much a congressional district has received in IRA-generated private sector and manufacturing investments, will run until a final budget bill passes in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson wants the bill passed by May 26. AEU did not divulge total spending on the ads, but called it a "six-digit" campaign.
ESG Lens
Consumers have voted with their wallets – Target has faced financial setbacks since scrapping its diversity, equity and inclusion program that included a goal to increase the number of Black employees by 20% over three years. A Target spokesperson said the new approach "is all about driving business results by increasing relevance with U.S. consumers and making Target a destination for talent."
Click here for an in-depth Reuters feature about DEI programs in U.S. corporations.
Today's Sustainable Switch was edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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