Holiday Break(ing)
TL;DR: Among many policy proposals, Project 2025 proposes eliminating both ARPA-E & EERE and criticizes international ‘climate reparations’ but inexplicably maintains the gargantuan budget for the National Laboratories. Prepare to watch Congress and exercise your First Amendment rights.
It’s the calm before the storm, and after being head-down in data analysis, I’m breaking my silence to discuss something crucial. Given our substantial ARPA-E affiliated readership, we need to examine the emissions and energy-related policy recommendations in Project 2025, the presumptive roadmap for the incoming administration.
The proposal directly targets ARPA-E and explicitly calls for its complete elimination. It justifies this action by describing the Agency as “unnecessary, risks taxpayer dollars, and interferes with risk-benefit decisions that should be made by the private sector.” But this is just the beginning.
The plan also targets EERE, proposing to slash its budget from the current $4.0 billion to its historical level of $1.5 billion annually. While they acknowledge this was the funding level when EERE achieved breakthrough cost reductions in wind, solar, and battery technology, they argue that recent appropriations are excessive. If funding cuts prove politically impossible, their fallback position is to redirect money away from commercialization and deployment toward fundamental research.
Curiously, the document preserves the Office of Science’s budget, particularly funding for National Laboratories. This isn’t surprising given the Labs’ status as modern equivalents of post-WWII military bases. They are politically challenging to reform due to their importance in specific congressional districts despite their history of inefficiency and mission creep.
I agree with some of the proposals, like its stance on climate reparations. During the November 2022 UN climate conference in Egypt, developed nations, including the U.S., agreed to compensate developing countries for alleged harm from fossil fuel use. The proposal rightly points out that a reparations fund administered by non-U.S. entities offers no guarantees for protecting American interests.
For critics who often dismiss the Democratic Party as policy wonks, Project 2025 presents a remarkably detailed policy agenda. The implications for energy innovation are significant. ARPA-E has historically been a crucial bridge between basic research and market-ready technologies. At the same time, EERE has successfully driven down renewable energy costs through targeted support that private industry wouldn’t provide. These agencies complement rather than duplicate existing efforts.
The decision to maintain National Lab funding while targeting ARPA-E reveals a philosophical inconsistency. Both institutions contribute to energy innovation but are treated vastly differently under the proposal. This suggests that political calculus rather than policy coherence might be driving some recommendations.
The first 100 days of the new administration will be critical. The energy and climate policy landscape could shift dramatically, making public engagement more critical.
Looking ahead, advocacy and active participation will be crucial in shaping the energy and climate agenda. Here are some steps to consider:
Educate and Inform: Know the policies and their implications. Share insights with your network and local organizations. Social media discourse shouldn’t be left to influencers alone.
Engage with Representatives: Contact Congress with specific policy positions, emphasizing local impacts. Even partisan representatives have staff tracking constituent concerns. Silence leads to an outcome that makes the Government seem disconnected.
Collaborate: Join forces with aligned individuals and organizations to strengthen your voice. As a starting point, I’ve enabled chat for this thread.
Stay Vigilant: Track congressional developments, especially during the administration’s early days. Use GovTrack, a free service that sends email updates on relevant legislation, and carve out a few minutes daily to act. It doesn’t take much, and LLMs like ChatGPT can take some of the burden off.
The path forward may be fraught with challenges, but proactive engagement can help shape a balanced and forward-thinking energy and climate policy framework for the future.