Climate Policy News You Can Use — January 2025

Published: January 6, 2025 by Daniel Neff

Climate Policy Leadership

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year from the Climate Policy Leadership Team at EDF! I am sure you are already fast at work in the US with the new administration and Congress. As you begin to develop relationships with the new government and tell your story about the great jobs and investments you are making, it is imperative not to abandon the climate progress that we have accomplished. Business voices are essential to right the ship on maintaining key policies that will help us decarbonize fast.

Please see below for updates on what the new administration and Congress have been up to in their first few weeks and days in office. As always, please reach out to us with any questions you may have or if you’d like to discuss strategy for any of the opportunities below.

Continue the Drumbeat on IRA Defense

The 119th Congress has been sworn in, and they are already busy writing their budget reconciliation plans. The House and Senate are split on how best to tackle their policy priorities. The Senate is aiming for a two-bill approach that can deliver a quick win on border security, while the House favors one bill, given their tight margins. President Trump also prefers the one bill approach but is not willing to fully put his thumb on the scale, so both chambers will move forward and see which route gains more traction. Clean energy provisions, tax credits and IRA funding have been clearly stated as on the table for funding a litany of priorities like extending the TCJA tax cuts or immigration. The margins are razor thin, and it only takes one vote to move the needle.

It is key for businesses to continue to advocate to Members of Congress on the importance of these tax credits to your investments and the jobs that you have created. These credits create an ecosystem that must be maintained on the supply side and demand side to ensure these investments reach their full potential. These next few weeks are critical for your advocacy to ensure a repeal of these provisions remains out of any reconciliation bill.

If you are interested in discussing the latest on what we are hearing on IRA from Congress or are interested in strategizing how best to use your voice, please reach out! We would love to hear about your advocacy thus far and strategies for these next important weeks.

Take Action:

  • Thank the members of Congress who signed a letter to Speaker Johnson in support of the energy tax credits last August.
  • Meet with Members whose districts you are investing in and link the specific IRA tax credits and grant programs to your projects and how they are essential to your business. Highlight the expected job creation because of these federal investments.
  • Make a public statement in support of the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Align your trade associations on your IRA advocacy to maintain the IRA programs and tax credits.

Go Deeper:

  • EDF and the Sabin Center have re-launched their IRA Tracker with new functionality to track rollbacks, legal action, and other threats and changes to the IRA.

Opportunity to Inform Implementation of CA Climate Risk Disclosure Laws

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is soliciting feedback from stakeholders to help inform its implementation of the state’s climate disclosure laws, SB 253 and SB 261. CA regulators are interested in hearing from companies on a range of topics, including learning from current practices and aligning with other reporting standards to minimize duplication of efforts.

These pieces of legislation were signed into law in 2023, with minor technical amendments made in 2024 (SB 219). The deadline for responses to this request for input is March 21, 2025.

Take Action:

  • Provide input to CARB on the importance of climate risk reporting, the ways you already engage with reporting standards and frameworks (such as the GHG Protocol and TCFD, which the laws incorporate), and any other information that could help ensure effective implementation of these laws.

Go Deeper:

Read letters from companies on their support for the CA climate risk disclosure laws, and EDF’s statement on the signing of the laws.

Keeping up with the Administration

President Trump has been busy ushering in a flurry of new executive orders on trade, energy, and the environment (see EDF’s statement on all EOs). These EOs are dense and could have different consequences. If you are interested in learning more about specific details, please reach out. Below are some of the most important climate EOs we are tracking:

  1. Declaring a National Energy Emergency
    Directs heads of executive departments and agencies to use all available emergency authorities, including Defense Production Act, to expedite generation of “domestic energy resources”. Their definition of “energy” specifically excludes solar and wind. See EDF’s Statement.
  2. Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements
    Directs US Ambassador to withdraw from Paris agreement and revoke any financial commitments. See EDF’s Statement.
  3. Unleashing American Energy
    1. Directs review of all existing regulations that impose burden on development and use of domestic energy – particularly with attention to oil, gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical minerals, and nuclear power.
    2. Sets as U.S. policy the elimination of the “EV mandate” and, where appropriate, state waivers.
    3. Disbands the IWG on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and withdraws all guidance and recommendations issued by the IWG.
    4. Directs EPA to submit recommendations on the legality of the GHG endangerment finding.
    5. Directs all agencies to immediately pause disbursement of funds from IRA and BIL.
      i. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum (Guidance Regarding Section 7 of the Executive Order “Unleashing American Energy”) clarifying that the pause on disbursement of appropriations from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act only applies to “funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order.”
    6. Lifts the LNG Pause and directs the Secretary of Energy to restart reviews of LNG export project applications.
  4. Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Action
    1. Revokes EO “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”
    2. Revokes EO “Climate-Related Financial Risk”
    3. Revokes EO “Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks”
    4. Revokes EO “Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act”
    5. Revokes EO “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability”
    6. Revokes EO “Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022”

ICYMI – Things We’re Tracking

  1. EDF Blog Post: Now more than ever: The business case for strong methane regulations.
  2. EDF Report: Production Underway at Dozens of U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Sites after Historic Levels of Investment.
  3. EDF Press Release: 45V Offers a Pathway for Green Hydrogen to Cut Climate Pollution; But Blue Hydrogen Risks Still Need to Be Addressed.
  4. EDF Press Release: Recent U.S. Climate and Clean Energy Actions Will Save Tens of Thousands of Lives, Deliver Trillions of Dollars in Health and Climate Benefits.

That is all for January. Thank you for reading, and if this was forwarded to you, email us to subscribe!

Best,
Daniel Neff on behalf of the Climate Policy Leadership Team