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An initiative that tracks progress in the fight against rising global temperatures has downgraded the United States from “insufficient” to “critically insufficient” based on a new report.
What’s happening?
The Climate Action Tracker, which analyzes countries’ efforts to reduce the amount of planet-heating pollution in the atmosphere, announced in late September that it had downgraded the U.S. in light of the current administration’s drastic U-turn on climate policy.
“The Trump administration’s massive support for expanding fossil fuels and unwinding clean energy rollout means the U.S. is being left behind, particularly as China ramps up production of renewable energy, electric vehicles and other clean technology,” Bill Hare, the chief executive officer of Climate Analytics, a nonprofit partnering on the Climate Action Tracker, said in a CAT press release.
“This could become a fossil fuel industry-inspired debacle for the U.S. economy.”
So far in 2025, new legislation has set the closure of tax incentive programs aimed at helping consumers afford cleaner energy products — such as electric vehicles and solar panels — years earlier than originally planned. The permit for a wind farm, which was already 80% complete, has also been canceled. In August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reduced air pollution monitoring. In September, the Department of Energy announced it would put up over $600 million to extend the use of coal plants, while the Environmental Protection Agency had previously announced plans to roll back regulations on coal plant pollution.
“This is the most aggressive, comprehensive, and consequential climate policy rollback the CAT has ever analyzed,” said Niklas Höhne of NewClimate, another initiative partner.
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Why is this significant?
Besides hampering the effort to curb rising global temperatures, the drastic change in renewable energy policies may already be having impacts on the U.S. economy and workforce.
The White House’s declaration of what it called a national energy emergency in January of this year identified economic security and job creation as aims of its plans to invest in fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, in 2024, renewable energy jobs in the U.S. grew at three times the rate of other fields, with solar installers and wind turbine technicians ranking as the top two fastest-growing occupations in the country, according to an analysis by the nonprofit E2. In the first half of 2025, a separate report from E2 indicates that policy changes were associated with the cancellation of $22 billion in renewable energy projects, resulting in a loss of 16,500 jobs.
Should the U.S. continue down this path, some are concerned about increasing costs over time.
According to an analysis from Energy Innovation, from 2026 through 2034, some of the current policies could cumulatively result in the U.S. GDP being $1.1 trillion lower than it otherwise would be. Additionally, U.S. jobs could “fall by more than 830,000 in 2030,” and wholesale energy prices could be 50% higher in 2035 due to the lack of new renewable energy production.
What’s being done about it?
Even while numerous federal policies and programs have faced rollbacks this year, many states are continuing to advance efforts in support of cleaner, renewable energy and climate resilience.
In Massachusetts, for example, two new grant programs have been launched to support clean tech in the state. California lawmakers also recently extended a program aimed at reducing carbon pollution across the transportation, energy, and industrial sectors.
“The sliver of good news is that there are still a number of state governments determined to continue along the path of decarbonization,” said Höhne.
There are also steps that can be taken at the local, neighborhood, and individual levels. Municipalities across the country are committing to power city systems with cleaner sources. Community solar programs are providing an opportunity for consumers to tap into renewable energy even without home solar. And families are carpooling and using public transit to reduce transportation-related pollution.
As an added — and not unimportant — benefit, all of these options offer cost savings too.
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