“Take a deep breath and focus on the work at hand.”
I have been saying that a lot since January 20. I have said it to various local government and school officials across the region, I have said it to businesses involved in clean energy projects, I have said it to the team at OECC and I have said it to myself a few times too.
There is no doubt we are facing big challenges. On January 20 we transitioned abruptly from the Biden Administration, likely to be remembered as the most effective climate-action administration in history (at least so far), to the second Trump Administration, led by folks who disregard climate science and a variety of other evidence-based disciplines.
It took the Biden administration years to create effective climate initiatives—the Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump administration wants to tear all these efforts down as quickly as possible, hence the flurry of executive orders.
The reality is, though, that there are processes. Under the US system of separation of powers, new presidents cannot undo acts of Congress or rewrite the tax code via executive order. New presidents cannot cancel existing federal contracts without just cause. And new presidents cannot refuse to pay legitimate invoices associated with those contracts.
So when someone reaches out to me, worried that Trump is pausing disbursements on federal contracts, I tell them to take a deep breath. Often I refer them to these resources:
The key message in these resources is that wrecking federal climate policy is not as simple as issuing an executive order. There are laws that govern the conditions under which federal agencies can terminate federal contracts. The spoiler alert is that if you are in compliance with your grant agreement then there is considerable case law ensuring that the federal government will honor that grant agreement.
That means, I think, that the chaos is temporary and that our existing contracts will be honored, eventually.
Unfortunately, I also think the new admnistration means new federal grant opportunities for climate action are unlikely. Any funds not yet committed are likely to be re-directed. That is unfortunate because it means that the communities that are just now understanding the IRA opportunities might well be too late to realize those opportunities.
The new administration is generating a lot of noise, earning a lot of headlines with these pronouncements but much of it is just noise. Existing tax credits remain in place until they expire or Congress passes legislation to end those credits. Existing grant agreements are legal documents, in place until the grant is complete or there’s a legitimate reason to terminate, even if payments are delayed. If you are in the midst of a clean energy project that is eligible for a tax credit or Elective Pay or if you are pursuing a home project that is eligible for Home Energy Rebates via Focus on Energy or you have an existing federal grant then focus on the work, not the noise. Make sure your project meets all the requirements; cross those t’s and dot all the i’s so that there is no reason to deny your submissions. And get things done.
There is a fair amount of talk right now about how climate leadership in the US is shifting from the federal government to state and local governments. Here in Dane County we have always been leading on climate action. Definitely the new administration makes our work a bit more challenging but our commitment to results, to equity, to collaboration remain.
So take a deep breath and focus on what we can accomplish locally together. Do not let the noise distract you from the important work we are doing together.
Kathy is the Director of the Dane County’s Office of Energy and Climate Change. In that role she's leading efforts to implement the Climate Action Plan. Prior to coming to Dane County, Kathy led Cool Choices and, prior to that, she led Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program.
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