April 8, 2025

Fueling the Crisis: Trump Cuts Transition and Adaptation as Climate Risks Rise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8 April, 2025

Washington, D.C. — While tariffs are dominating the news and impacting people across the globe, including the U.S. renewable energy sector, The Trump Administration has also quietly revealed its plans to shut down the Clean Energy Demonstrations Office and cut $9 billion in energy programs. Tariffs will already hurt the U.S. renewables sector, and federal spending cuts will only further deny Americans access to cheaper, less polluting, and more reliable energy. 

This is only the latest in a series of massive cuts to climate infrastructure—the administration has cut billions of dollars in battery storage and electric vehicle factories, and Grist recently revealed that FEMA plans to cut one of its biggest disaster adaptation programs. 

Anne Jellema, 350.org Executive Director, responds: 

“It sounds like metaphor, but they are quite literally setting a fire, adding gasoline, turning off the water, and shutting down the fire department. The Trump administration is cutting both the infrastructure to transition off of fossil fuels, and the ability to adapt to the climate disasters they are ensuring will grow more frequent and more deadly. As high as the stakes are, we owe it to frontline communities across the U.S. and the world not to give up. And we must take every step we can to invest in renewable energy at the city and state level. The fight for climate justice is not over, not when every tenth of a degree matters and the money and tools we need for climate justice are right in front of us.” 

“As resistance builds within the U.S., we remember that this country is not a monolith. The global renewable energy transition continues—led by frontline communities who have contributed the least to the crisis, yet are paying the highest price. From solar-powered villages in the Philippines to wind cooperatives in Kenya, local leaders are showing what’s possible. We call on governments everywhere to draw the line—end fossil fuel subsidies, tax the super-rich, and fund a just energy transition now.”

 

Media Contact:

Melanie Smith

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917-408-3145

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