What Business Leaders Are Saying: Trump Administration’s EPA Rule Denies Opportunity to Lead
This week, the Trump Administration announced plans to eliminate the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an Obama-era policy to reduce carbon emissions. Under the new plan, states may write their own regulations for coal-fired power plants–or write none at all. This is a drastic shift away from the CPP, which pushed the energy industry toward clean…
U.S. Energy Employment on the Rise
U.S. energy employment accounted for 162,000 new jobs in 2017, according to a new report out from the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) The 2018 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) tracks changes in U.S. energy employment unaccounted for in the Bureau of Labor’s statistics. The report analyzes…
U.S. Energy Employment on the Rise
Earlier this month, the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) released the 2018 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER). Over the past year, overall energy employment has grown by 162,000 jobs and highlighted some interesting trends. Although it was issued by the EFI, the report uses the same methodology and data sets as the 2016 and 2017…
Doing the Math on the Clean Power Plan
Critics of the Clean Power Plan argue it will increase electricity costs so much that companies operating here in the U.S. will shift their jobs to China. The local business leaders with whom we work see it differently. Nineteen out of 20 of them support the Clean Power Plan, because the immediate cost of switching…
Market Solutions for Managing the Risk of Climate Change
Appropriate risk management could be a lasting solution to climate change, according to Robert Litterman, former head of risk management for Goldman Sachs. “The risk of climate change is not currently being priced,” Litterman said in a briefing with business leaders this week. “As a result, globally, humans are taking on too much risk.” We…
An update on our work
It’s been a year since President Trump’s election, and I have been reflecting on what has changed and how we at Business Forward have adapted. I’d like to take this opportunity to update you on our work. First, business leader engagement is up. For eight years, our mission has been to “help local business leaders fix…
Answers to Four Tough Questions about Renewable Energy
Introduction Over the past two years, Business Forward has organized dozens of energy and climate briefings for business leaders across the country. At these briefings, policymakers met with executives from energy companies. In each case, the discussion focused on four key questions: Can wind and solar compete with coal and natural gas on price, at…
Clean Energy Financing from the Dept. of Energy
The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office has more than $40 billion in authority to finance innovative clean energy projects and advanced technology vehicles manufacturing. Mark McCall, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office Executive Director, discusses how the federal government’s financing is accelerating clean energy technology development, the types of programs that receive funding,…
Here’s what business leaders are saying about clean energy standards
Following the introduction of a new resolution by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and U.S. Representatives John K. Delaney (Md.-06) and Ben Lujan (N.M.-03), dozens of business leaders from across the country shared their views this week on the need for strong clean energy standards At Business Forward briefings across the county, small business owners,…
Here’s what business leaders are saying about clean energy standards
Following the introduction of a new resolution by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and U.S. Representatives John K. Delaney (Md.-06) and Ben Lujan (N.M.-03), dozens of business leaders from across the country shared their views this week on the need for strong clean energy standards At Business Forward briefings across the county, small business…