Trump’s Impact on School & College Climate Change Efforts
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The Trump administration’s anti-climate policies have disrupted the efforts of schools and colleges to become more environmentally friendly. For example, attempts to freeze clean energy funds have made it more difficult for institutions like the Denver public school district to achieve their carbon reduction goals. Despite these setbacks, many schools are continuing their green initiatives, but face uncertainty regarding funding and potential changes to the law regarding energy tax credits.
Trump’s Anti-Climate Actions Hinder Green Initiatives in Education
The Trump administration’s anti-climate blitz has hindered schools’ and colleges’ ability to implement green initiatives. Denver public school district’s carbon reduction goal has been challenged as Trump’s first days in office saw attempts to freeze clean energy funds through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Denver school district had anticipated receiving tax credits for 25 electric school buses through the IRA. However, the recent freezing has left the district’s executive director of sustainability, LeeAnn Kittle, scrambling to maintain the district’s green initiatives. This includes a nearly $12 million grant through Renew America’s Schools, a Department of Energy program aimed at helping schools become more energy-efficient.
“It’s like someone put us in a snow globe and shook us up, and now we’re asked to stand straight,” said Kittle. The Trump administration’s actions are disrupting but not extinguishing efforts by schools and colleges to curtail their emissions and reduce their environmental impact.
Education Institutions in Limbo
State University of New York (SUNY), which owns a significant 40 percent of New York State’s public buildings, is also in limbo. Despite being awarded $15 million to buy 350 electric vehicle charging stations at the start of the year, the funds have not been received. The grant program webinar, funded by the bipartisan infrastructure act, was canceled, leaving the SUNY chief sustainability officer, Carter Strickland, in the dark.
The confusion, even though the IRA is still law, has led both K-12 and higher education institutions to reconsider clean energy projects. There’s no count of how many colleges have sought funding through the IRA and bipartisan infrastructure act-funded programs, but the work is widespread across red and blue states.
Future of Green School Initiatives
Despite the setbacks, there’s hope for preserving clean energy tax credits. As a report last year showed, about 85 percent of private-sector dollars spent on clean energy projects are in GOP-led districts. This fact has led some GOP lawmakers to advocate for maintaining that funding, which has led to a rise in renewable energy jobs.
The Renew America’s Schools grant program, another crucial vehicle for greening schools, was initiated in 2022 with $500 million for school districts. However, many of the Department of Energy staff working on the effort have left, leaving some school districts uncertain about the status of their project funding.
Related: How colleges can become ‘living labs’ for combating climate change
Over 3,400 school districts have applied for money through programs created under the bipartisan infrastructure law and the IRA to electrify school buses. Despite a court ruling against the administration’s freeze on clean energy spending, grants through those programs appear to have been unfrozen.
Climate change is already negatively affecting young people and contributing to escalating disasters like floods and fires. Backtracking from climate action at the federal level stirs disappointment and fear, as these efforts are crucial in addressing this existential threat.
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