Donald Trump’s plan to destroy climate law would be self-inflicted, the US energy chief has said

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Donald Trump’s plan to kill the Biden administration’s climate legislation would be “stabbing ourselves” and give China an edge in a global clean-tech race, the US energy secretary said.

Jennifer Granholm told the Financial Times that the Deflation Act has spurred a $500 billion “tsunami of investment” and is rebuilding an American manufacturing sector capable of competing with China.

But Trump’s plan to scrap the IRA and its vast clean-tech subsidies if elected president in November would threaten progress made in relocating US factories and threaten US energy independence, she said.

“Why would we want to give the advantage to China again?” Granholm said. “Looks like we wouldn’t unilaterally disarm, but stab each other because that would be so stupid.”

“It would definitely undermine America’s energy independence,” she said, adding that it was also “geopolitically super important” that the U.S. help break global dependence on Chinese supply chains.

“Our allies don’t want to rely on a single source for their critical minerals, for their solar panels and batteries,” she said, referring to China’s dominance.

The IRA, passed in 2022, is the centerpiece of Biden’s economic agenda and effort to reindustrialize parts of the U.S. rust belt, and includes about $370 billion in credits, loans and grants aimed at accelerating investment in manufacturing capacity in green energy.

But Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has vowed to overturn the legislation, blaming the Biden administration’s environmental policies for driving up fuel costs — a key message as he battles Democratic rival Kamala Harris in this year’s race for the White House. .

“It’s actually setting us back as opposed to moving us forward,” Trump said, referring to the IRA in a speech in New York earlier this month. “And (I will) rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Relief Act.”

Trump has also dismissed climate change as a “hoax” as he pledges to roll back environmental rules and boost US fossil fuel production.

Any attempt by Trump to repeal the IRA would require legislation, meaning Republicans would almost certainly have to win control of both houses of Congress in November.

Granholm said it would be an act of “political malpractice” for Trump to try to overturn the law, which would trigger a backlash from politicians in his own Republican party eager to defend projects and jobs in their states.

About 70% of the planned investments triggered by the IRA went to Republican districts in the US, with many projects slated for communities with below-average wages and education levels.

Last month, 18 House Republicans signed a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson asking him not to push for a “premature repeal of the energy tax credits” that support new IRA investments.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Granholm also dismissed the former president’s claims that the Biden administration is waging “America’s energy war” by restricting oil and gas permits and cutting off approvals for new liquefied natural gas export projects.

“The U.S. oil and gas sector has never produced as much as it does now,” Granholm said, adding that the White House has issued more drilling permits than the Trump administration.

She said the Energy Department’s pause on approving new LNG plants in January was necessary given the industry’s rapid expansion in previous years. The conclusions of a scientific report due later this year will determine the way forward, Granholm said.