Zeus: TACO trade won't help struggling state climate efforts

Higher energy prices are starting to kill even local de-carbonization efforts

This column is for Callaway Climate Insights subscribers only, but it’s OK to share once in a while. Was it shared with you? Please subscribe.

One of the primary silver linings that climate advocates turned to after Donald Trump won re-election is that no matter how much damage he did to federal environmental efforts — and nobody expected this much — at least many of the most committed U.S. states would still carry the baton.

“It’s all going to be up to the states now,” was a popular refrain.

Almost a year-and-a-half after the election, even the most climate-friendly states are starting to pull back, entangled in a crush of soaring energy costs, federal lawsuits from the White House, and rising anti-climate populism.

While it is a relief to see the latest TACO (Trump always chickens out) trade take place this week, with markets soaring after the president called a ceasefire in the Middle East, the reality on the ground in statehouses and local budget offices across the country is that not much has changed.

Gas prices are still high. Home heating — and soon cooling — costs are leaping. And state budgets are bursting as politicians try to maintain climate regulations in the face of what has become a national obsession with rising energy costs, and in particular the tech industry’s data center frenzy seen as a major player in them.

Last week, New York became the latest state to announce its intention to roll back climate initiatives. Gov. Kathy Hochul (above right) said current emission reduction targets were “costly and unattainable” given the rising cost of energy and public concerns about affordability.