Statement of Nathaniel Keohane
President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
November 6, 2024
On the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States:
“Presidential administrations come and go, but the clean energy economy is here to stay. With Europe and China racing ahead, America cannot afford to cede the jobs and investments and factories of the twenty-first century to the rest of the world.
“Leading businesses and investors understand this, which is why they are putting capital into clean energy and cutting carbon pollution. Communities across the country, in red and blue states alike, are seeing the economic benefits that come with investment in clean energy, low-carbon technologies, and climate resilience.
“In an abbreviated general election campaign dominated by other issues, climate change didn’t receive as much attention as it should – but you can be certain it will over the next four years. The one-two punch delivered on the Southeastern U.S. this fall by hurricanes Helene and Milton brought home the catastrophic impacts of climate change—in devastation to communities, business shutdowns and disruptions, and rebuilding costs. Such extreme weather events, once rare but increasingly commonplace, underscore the urgency of cutting carbon emissions.
“Thanks to policies with bipartisan support that are channeling investment into clean tech innovation and deployment, we are on the cusp of a more prosperous future: one where abundant zero-carbon energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear enhance America’s security, where investments in clean energy manufacturing create good jobs, and where the technologies that will power the economy of tomorrow—small modular reactors, clean hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, advanced batteries, and so many others—are invented and deployed here in the U.S. and exported around the world.
“C2ES will continue to work with leading businesses and with forward-thinking policy makers at all levels of government and on both sides of the aisle to make that future a reality. And we will continue to work with governments around the world to ensure the effectiveness of the Paris Agreement as a tool for collective action on climate.”