US Senate Bill's clean energy cuts draw backlash from labour, business
WASHINGTON - The US Senate's proposed cuts to clean energy subsidies in its version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending Bill have drawn searing criticism from business and labour groups since they were unveiled over the weekend, with some arguing the moves will raise power prices and kill jobs.
The pushback, which includes a swipe from Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, comes as senators started voting on a potentially long list of amendments to the Bill on June 30 morning, giving renewable energy advocates on both sides of the political spectrum a last window to push for changes.
'Taxing energy production is never good policy, whether oil & gas or, in this case, renewables,' said Mr Neil Bradley, policy director of the US Chamber of Commerce, in a post on X over the weekend. 'Electricity demand is set to see enormous growth & this tax will increase prices. It should be removed.'
'This would be incredibly destructive to America!' Mr Musk posted on X, saying the cuts could endanger the development of energy-hungry artificial intelligence technology, among other things.
Mr Trump has said he intends to maximise US energy production, with a focus on fossil fuels, in part to ensure the power industry can supply the AI industry's growth. But he has also promised to wipe out subsidies for renewables.
The Senate Bill would roll back incentives for wind, solar, batteries and other clean energy technologies created by former president Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and add a new tax on these projects if they cannot prove their products are made without Chinese parts.
Those provisions were harsher on the credits than the previous Senate version and even the House version.
Mr Sean McGarvey, president of the North America's Building Trades Unions (Nabtu), which represents over 3 million construction workers, blasted the Bill's impact on jobs.
'If enacted, this stands to be the biggest job-killing Bill in the history of this country. Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects,' he said in a statement, referring to an oil pipeline project blocked by Mr Biden's administration.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of two Republicans who voted against advancing the Bill, also blasted the bill on the Senate floor overnight and warned that it will cause power shortages by hamstringing renewable energy and battery storage.
Mr Tillis drew ire from Mr Trump for voting against the motion to advance the Bill and has since said he does not plan to run for re-election.
'What you have done is create a blip in power service, because there isn't going to be a gas-fired generator anytime soon,' he said on the floor.
Mr Tillis had worked as a consultant covering the utility industry and said the Bill ignores the reality of the soaring demand for power by data centres.
Mr Brian Schatz, a Democratic Senator from Hawaii, also railed against the Bill's impact.
'This Bill will increase prices. The 500-GW less energy in the next decade is pretty much exactly the amount we will need to meet rising demand,' he said.
'You don't have to love clean energy or be an environmentalist to understand that this is a basic question of supply and demand,' he said. REUTERS
Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
32 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Trump signs order lifting sanctions on Syria, White House says, World News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed on Monday (June 30) an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war. The move will allow the US to maintain sanctions on Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, people linked to chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State and ISIS affiliates and proxies for Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Assad was toppled in December in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Trump's termination of the Syria sanctions programme would "open door of long-awaited reconstruction and development", according to a post by the foreign minister on social media platform X. He said the move would "lift the obstacle" against economic recovery and open the country to the international community. Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Trump met in Riyadh in May where, in a major policy shift, Trump unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures. Some in Congress are pushing for the measures to be totally repealed, while Europe has announced the end of its economic sanctions regime. "Syria needs to be given a chance, and that's what's happened," US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack told reporters in a briefing call. He described Monday's move as "the culmination of a very tedious, detailed, excruciating process of, how do you unwrap these sanctions." The White House in a fact sheet said the order directs the Secretary of State to review the terrorism designations of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel group that Sharaa led that has roots in al Qaeda, as well as Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. The White House said the administration would continue to monitor Syria's progress on key priorities including "taking concrete steps toward normalizing ties with Israel, addressing foreign terrorists, deporting Palestinian terrorists and banning Palestinian terrorist groups". Layers of US sanctions A Reuters investigation published on Monday revealed the role of Syrian government forces in the killing of more than 1,500 Syrian Alawites over three days of massacres along the country's Mediterranean coast in March. The Trump administration had no comment on the Reuters report. It was not immediately clear if Washington was lifting the sanctions on any of the factions that Reuters found were involved. Syrians hope the easing of sanctions will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations working in the country, encouraging foreign investment and trade as it rebuilds. In the aftermath of Trump's announcement in May, the US Treasury Department issued a general license that authorised transactions involving the interim Syrian government as well as the central bank and state-owned enterprises. However, the US has imposed layers of sanctions against Syria, some of which are authorised by legislation, including the Caesar Act. Repealing the measures is necessary for Syria to attract long-term investment without parties fearing the risk of violating US sanctions. "We are now, pursuant to the executive order, going to look at suspension criteria for the Caesar Act," a senior administration official said. Most of the US sanctions on Syria were imposed on Assad's government and key individuals in 2011 after civil war erupted in the country. The dismantling of the US sanctions programme on Syria includes terminating from Tuesday a national emergency declared in 2004 and revoking linked executive orders, according to the order signed on Monday. The executive order also directs additional actions, including some with respect to waivers of export controls and other restrictions, the order read. [[nid:718340]]
Straits Times
43 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump blames AT&T for tech issues in a call, AT&T says its network did not cause disruption
Mr Trump urged AT&T's boss to handle the situation, and also said his administration may use another carrier's service in other calls. PHOTO: REUTERS Trump blames AT&T for tech issues in a call, AT&T says its network did not cause disruption WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on June 30 blamed AT&T for technical issues in a conference call he held with American faith leaders, but the wireless carrier said its analysis showed the disruption was not caused by its network. Mr Trump urged the wireless carrier's boss to handle the situation, and also said his administration may use another carrier's service in other calls. 'I'm doing a major Conference Call with Faith Leaders from all over the Country, and AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly,' Mr Trump wrote on social media about the call on the afternoon of June 30. 'This is the second time it's happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved – It would be good. There are tens of thousands of people on the line!' Mr Trump did not elaborate on the specifics of the issue. AT&T said on X its initial analysis 'indicates the disruption was caused by an issue with the conference call platform, not our network.' The company also said it was working to better understand the issue to help avoid such disruptions in the future. Mr Trump apologised to faith leaders for what he described as a long wait on the conference call. 'We may have to reschedule the call, but we'll use another carrier the next time,' Mr Trump said on social media. AT&T shares pared gains very briefly after Mr Trump's post and then recovered. During his first White House term, Mr Trump criticised the company, which at the time owned CNN, about the news channel's coverage of his administration. Earlier in June, Mr Trump's family business licensed its name to launch a US mobile service and a US$499 (S$634) smartphone, calling it Trump Mobile, in a deal brokered by the president's children. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
G-7 urges talks to resume for deal on Iran nuclear program
An expanded meeting of the G-7 summit took place in Kananaskis, Canada, on June 17. PHOTO: EPA-EFE WASHINGTON/OTTAWA - Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G-7) nations said on June 30 they supported the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and urged for negotiations to resume for a deal to address Iran's nuclear program, according to a joint statement. Since April, Iran and the US have held talks aimed at finding a new diplomatic solution regarding Iran's nuclear program. Tehran says its program is peaceful and Israel and its allies say they want to ensure Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon. 'We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran's nuclear program,' the G-7 foreign ministers said. Last week, Mr Trump announced a ceasefire between US ally Israel and its regional rival Iran to halt a war that began on June 13 when Israel attacked Iran. The Israel-Iran conflict had raised alarms in a region already on edge since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023. Before the ceasefire was announced, Washington struck Iran's nuclear sites and Iran targeted a US base in Qatar in retaliation. The G-7 foreign ministers said they urged 'all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilise the region'. US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff has said talks between Washington and Tehran were 'promising' and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal. The G-7 top diplomats denounced threats against the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on June 30, after a hardline Iranian newspaper said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi should be tried and executed as an Israeli agent. On June 12, the UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country believed to have nuclear weapons and said its war against Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Israel is not. The UN nuclear watchdog, which carries out inspections in Iran, says it has 'no credible indication' of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
