Americans are still reacting to the likely catastrophic impacts on the environment and climate change from the return of former president Donald Trump to the White House and the election of a majority by his party to the U.S. Senate. Control of the U.S. House is still in doubt as vote-counting continues.

Presidential Election

“The outcome of the election is deeply disappointing, but the clean energy economy is here to stay. Trump’s attacks on clean energy and his plans to enact Project 2025’s dangerous agenda are extremely unpopular. We applaud all the climate champions who ran this year and are grateful to everyone who worked so hard,” said League of Conservation Voters (LCV) President Gene Karpinski. “We are fiercely committed to defending people and the planet, and we know how to fight back against what is coming.”

Karpinski continued, “After 2016 we focused on making progress in the states and blocking Trump’s most extreme policies and appointments. States are even more powerful now and can continue to make progress while also pushing back on Trump. We will fight against the extreme MAGA Republicans’ agenda to not only gut the Inflation Reduction Act, protections for our clean air, clean water, and our public lands, but also our voting rights, our reproductive rights, immigrant rights, and our democracy itself. These attacks are bad policy and bad politics, and we will fight like hell to stop them at the federal level while continuing to advance progress at the state and local level. We are already looking ahead to electing climate and democracy champions in 2025, 2026 and beyond.”

U.S. House of Representatives

Separately, LCV also congratulated candidates in multiple states who had received LCV Action Fund endorsements. In North Carolina, LCV congratulated U.S. House Representatives Deborah Ross (D-NC2) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC4) on their election wins.

“Following the devastation of Hurricane Helene this fall, North Carolinians felt the very real impacts of climate change on our communities and our health,” said LCV President Karpinski. “North Carolinians voted to continue tackling the climate crisis head on to help reduce the severity of future hurricanes. We are thrilled to continue our work with Representatives Deb Ross and Valerie Foushee to build a clean energy future for North Carolina.”

Protecting the Environment from Trump

Environmental law organizations like the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issued similar statements emphasizing their readiness to aggressively defend existing bedrock environmental laws and programs, more recent actions promoting clean energy, “forever chemicals” regulation, and environmental justice efforts.

See the SELC detailed list of priorities in defending against the Trump and Project 2025 agenda here. See the NRDC statement here.

Biden-Harris Clean Energy Progress Will Be Hard to Undo

Finally, leaders in the actual implementation of the Biden-Harris clean energy investments point out the practical difficulties of undoing large economic development investments, which are already in place and paying dividends to state and local economies around the nation. 

“No matter what Trump may say, the shift to clean energy is unstoppable and our country is not turning back. Our coalition is bigger, more bipartisan, better organized, and fully prepared to deliver climate solutions, boost local economies, and drive climate ambition. We cannot and will not let Trump stand in the way of giving our kids and grandkids the freedom to grow up in safer and healthier communities,” remarked Gina McCarthy, Former White House National Climate Advisor and 13th U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. 

She continued, “Let me remind you, our country has seen the most significant investments in rebuilding our economy over the past four years by creating jobs in clean energy, protecting public health, and supporting communities most in need. These investments have contributed to an economy that is stronger and more resilient than it has ever been. [And] keep in mind that the bulk of these clean energy projects are operating or under construction in Republican districts. That means many – if not most – Republican members of Congress have been joining hundreds of business leaders at ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking ceremonies. Because it is undeniably true that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is good for businesses and good for all Americans, any attempted rollback of the IRA is a fool’s errand.”