CAC’s Alt: Trump’s Policies Make Americans Less Safe, Less Healthy, and Less Able to Afford Everyday Expenses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2025

Contact: Gabrielle Levy, glevy@cacampaign.org

 

CAC’s Alt: Trump’s Policies Make Americans Less Safe, Less Healthy, and Less Able to Afford Everyday Expenses

 

WASHINGTON–Climate Action Campaign Director Margie Alt issued the following statement following Trump’s address:

“Tonight, Donald Trump said a lot – much of it unconnected to reality. Perhaps that’s because the impacts of his policies are nothing to brag about.

“Because of Trump’s actions, people will be exposed to more pollution poisoning their air and water as he dismantles protections meant to keep his rich fossil fuel friends from polluting at will, and fires the people who would hold them accountable. He is taking away people’s ability to choose clean energy, efficient appliances, or to buy an electric vehicle – options that save money and reduce climate pollution. His energy policies have decimated domestic manufacturing and delayed or eliminated 42,000 good-paying clean energy jobs in just 6 weeks. And the dual costs of boosting the production of fossil fuels – supercharging climate pollution – while dismantling critical extreme weather warning systems will leave our communities unprepared and unprotected from increasingly devastating climate impacts.

“Under Trump’s climate and energy policies, Americans are less safe, less healthy, and less able to afford their everyday expenses. Trump’s chaotic, cruel and illegal actions are not what the majority of Americans voted for.”

 

Here’s How Trump Talked About Climate and Clean Energy During His Address to Congress – and How We’re Responding

 

Trump spoke misleadingly about the economy, costs, and affordability.

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “Trump is well on his way to breaking every economic promise he made to the American people. He’s slashed jobs, instituted a knee-jerk trade war with our largest trading partners that incited retaliation against American companies and products, and rolled back clean energy investments that bolstered local economies – and average Americans are paying the price. Trump isn’t making America more affordable – he’s gutting the American economy, hurting our pocketbooks and threatening our safety in the process – all to force Americans to subsidize tax cuts for billionaires.”

Here’s the truth:

• A new report from Climate Power has found that more than 42,000 announced clean energy jobs have been lost or stalled since Trump was elected.
• Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could increase gas prices.
• Electricity prices are getting close to highs not seen since the 1990s (factoring in inflation).
• Blocking congressionally-mandated funding and rolling back pollution protections is already causing a domino effect, canceling job-creating projects, forcing Americans out of their jobs, damaging our economy, and increasing costs for everyday items.
• The climate crisis is already responsible for higher prices of groceries and energy, catastrophic storms and deadly heat waves, and health harms from fossil fuel pollution. Under Trump this situation will only get worse.
• Building out liquified natural gas exports would increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by over 30%, according to the Department of Energy.

 

Trump talked about his plans to boost fossil fuel energy.

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “If Trump were serious about unleashing U.S. energy dominance – and growing our economy – he’d start with the cheapest sources of new energy: home-grown wind and solar. Instead, he’s limiting Americans’ choices of energy, increasing average energy prices and eliminating the good-paying jobs the clean energy economy creates – all so he can line the pockets of his rich, oil-executive donors.”

Here’s the truth:  

• Clean energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. economy, creating more good-paying jobs than fossil fuels while strengthening energy independence. It’s also the cheapest form of new energy. Meanwhile, fossil fuels and extreme weather worsened by climate change are driving up household energy bills.
• Increasing our reliance on fossil fuels will only increase the chances of power outages and other disruptions from increasingly severe weather fueled by climate change.
• Diversifying our energy sources strengthens our energy security.
• Instead of encouraging home-grown, clean energy growth, the Trump administration has paused clean projects leasing on federal lands and waters and has frozen funding for the $7-billion-program Solar for All, which brings residential solar to low-income communities. Fewer sources of clean energy limits Americans’ choices on how and where they get their energy.
• Trump issued an executive order freezing permitting for wind energy projects, throwing the entire industry into turmoil. Land-based wind turbines produce 10% of US electricity, and red states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas produce much of our wind electricity.
• Proposals to undermine climate and clean energy investments stifle innovation, hurt American workers, and cede leadership of the clean energy revolution to global competitors.
• Building out liquified natural gas exports would increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by over 30%, according to the Department of Energy, while also increasing climate pollution.
• Trump’s “Energy Emergency” order weakened environmental reviews – making it easier for companies to build oil and gas projects and ignoring solar and wind.

 

Trump spoke misleadingly about shrinking government spending, programs, and services. 

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “Trump and Musk are slashing lifesaving services such as forecasting destructive storms, providing critical help to victims of disasters, and protecting our air and water from dangerous pollution. Trump and Musk’s attacks on the government are attacks on the health and safety of the American people, full stop.”

Here’s the truth:

• In the aftermath of California’s deadly, destructive wildfires, Donald Trump threatened to withhold disaster assistance to California unless the state changes its water management policy – a change that would directly benefit him and his private golf club in Los Angeles.
• Under Lee Zeldin, the EPA has staged a campaign to seize $20 billion appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act. The EPA’s mission is to protect people and communities from dangerous pollution, including climate pollution. Climate and clean energy investments provided by the EPA are the best investments for protecting vulnerable communities from climate change.
• It’s clear that the administration has no intention of making the clean energy economy a priority regardless of the measurable benefits it brings to the U.S. – including red states. Defunding the EPA of $20 billion would harm state economies, especially those who need the support to transition to a clean energy economy.

 

Trump spoke misleadingly about electric vehicles. 

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “Trump’s nonsensical attacks on electric vehicles are  hurting American consumers who want the ability to choose clean, cost-effective cars and trucks. EV manufacturing creates thousands of jobs, boosts local economies, and helps drive down pollution from transportation, the single largest source of air pollution in the U.S.”

Here’s the truth: 

• Trump illegally froze EV charger funding authorized by Congress.
• Trump’s attacks on EVs, including rolling back production tax credits for American automakers, could make it harder for U.S. car manufacturers to compete in the global market.
• By ending tax credits for new EVs, consumers are cut off from real choice in the market. With EVs already cost-competitive compared to their gas counterparts, bringing savings on gas costs for the everyday consumer, this policy would harm middle class Americans.
• The electric vehicle sector is bolstering the economy, investing millions and adding thousands of jobs nationwide.

 

Trump talked about withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “Clean energy is the future. The world’s economy is moving decisively toward renewable energy sources, clean manufacturing, and electric vehicles. Trump’s efforts to keep America hooked on dirty energy will keep America’s industries stuck in the past, unable to compete.”

Here’s the truth:

• Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord weakens the U.S.’s ability to compete globally across industries. By stepping away from international climate agreements, the U.S. risks losing economic opportunities in clean energy jobs and trade that other countries will embrace.
• The administration is stunting the U.S.’s place as a climate leader on the global stage by continuously denying climate science. Not only has the administration denied facts, but it has also come after scientists’ work on a national and global scale through federal grants and research freezes.
• Not taking meaningful action on climate change will lead to hundreds of thousands of additional deaths per year, more frequent and more severe extreme weather events, worse health outcomes for people across the world, a weaker global economy, and much more.

 

Trump spoke misleadingly about slashing DEI initiatives. 

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: 

“Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the basic fact that climate change is real while decimating the funding and services meant to help those who suffer its impacts the most is extraordinarily cruel.”

Here’s the truth:

• Trump’s plan to undo President Biden’s Executive Actions on Environmental Justice including the Justice 40 Initiative would take away critical investments and put communities of color and low-income people – who are already overburdened with pollution – at greater risk.
• Environmental justice programs, which are congressionally funded, in an office originally founded by a Republican president, “are aimed at helping poor and minority communities that are facing disproportionate amounts of pollution.”

 

Trump spoke misleadingly about slashing regulations. 

Here’s our response from CAC Director Margie Alt: “No one – except wealthy polluters – wants Trump to weaken protections for clean air and water. Stripping away these protections means medical bills go up when more kids have asthma and there are more cases of cancer and lung disease; economies suffer when bad air days halt outdoor work and force school closures. The rich will get richer while everyone else suffers.”

Here’s the truth:

• The U.S. has built the strongest economy in the world while taking significant strides to clean up our air and water.
• Air pollution is bad for business and costs the global economy $225 billion each year, negatively impacting stock market performance. The Trump administration’s halt on federal grants for climate solutions creates a dangerous environment for air pollution to grow, harming the economy.
• Air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants contains more than 80 hazardous air pollutants identified by the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration has made it clear that they will prioritize fossil fuels and other harmful energy sources that will worsen our air quality.
• Under the Trump administration, the EPA has fired hundreds of workers and intends to cut thousands more. EPA workers test our air and water for pollution and contamination, are among the first responders after catastrophic accidents, and act as watchdogs to keep polluters from ignoring critical environmental and public health laws.
• Wholesale firing of EPA staff will leave the agency unable to adequately enforce laws designed to protect our health and our environment.

 

About the Climate Action Campaign

Climate Action Campaign (CAC) is a vibrant coalition driving ambitious, durable, equitable federal action to tackle the climate crisis. By cutting carbon pollution and accelerating the transition to clean energy, we will improve public health and create a more resilient economy and a more sustainable future for all.