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America’s Energy Transformation Reaches Historic Milestones
The United States achieved something remarkable in 2024 that would have seemed impossible just a decade ago. Wind and solar reached a record 17% of US electricity, overtaking coal for the first time, which dropped to a historic low of 15%. Meanwhile, the clean energy industry shattered records by deploying an unprecedented 49 GW of capacity – a remarkable 33% increase over the previous record of 37 GW set in 2023. This shift represents more than numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s the physical manifestation of science-backed policies finally gaining traction.
In 2024, the U.S. generated a record 756,621 gigawatt-hours of electricity from solar and wind – enough to power the equivalent of more than 70 million average American homes. This is more than triple the amount generated a decade ago, in 2015. The transformation has been so rapid that after taking more than 40 years to build the first 200 GW of utility-scale clean power capacity, it took just three years to build an additional 100 GW between 2022-2024.
The Science-Policy Gap That Nearly Broke Everything
Despite these achievements, America faces a troubling disconnect between what climate scientists know and what policymakers actually do. Cuts of 42 per cent are needed by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035 to get on track for 1.5°C, yet nations must collectively commit to these targets or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years. The gap between scientific recommendations and policy implementation has become a chasm that threatens to undermine decades of progress.
U.S. adults are just as likely to say that policies aimed at reducing the effects of climate change usually help the economy as they are to say these policies usually hurt it (34% each). Among Republicans and those who lean to the Republican Party, 56% think climate policies usually hurt the economy. This political divide isn’t just about economics – it’s about fundamentally different interpretations of the same scientific data.
Political Whiplash Threatens Long-Term Progress
According to a January 2025 report by Reuters, political pressures – not climate priorities – are increasingly steering U.S. sustainable finance. The once-bipartisan push for ESG integration is now tangled in culture wars, especially in conservative-led states. This politicization of what should be evidence-based policy creates dangerous uncertainty for long-term investments and planning.
The consequences are already showing up in investment data. U.S. spending fell by $20.5 billion, or 36%, from the second half of 2024 in what the firm calls a response to the U.S. presidential election. It was the steepest drop of any country. When political winds shift, billions of dollars in clean energy investments get blown around like leaves in a storm.
Manufacturing Renaissance Built on Scientific Innovation
Yet beneath the political turbulence, something profound is happening in American manufacturing. At least 160 clean energy manufacturing facilities or expansions have been announced since August 2022, driven by tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, with 47 announced in 2024 alone. Collectively, these facilities are expected to result in 100,000 new manufacturing jobs and at least $500 billion in investment, $75 billion of which has already been spent.
The revival isn’t just about jobs – it’s about rebuilding America’s capacity to manufacture the technologies that science says we need. Domestic manufacturing of solar modules in particular grew substantially in 2024 to surpass 50 GW – enough to meet all existing U.S. solar demand – with five new or expanded manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Texas. In addition, manufacturing of silicon cells for solar resumed in the U.S. in 2024 for the first time since 2019.
Red States Leading the Clean Energy Charge
Perhaps the most surprising development is where the growth is happening. Red states saw some of the fastest growth in clean power capacity 2024, with Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky increasing operational capacity by more than 200% year-over-year. This suggests that economic realities are beginning to override political rhetoric in places where the rubber meets the road.
California, Texas, and Florida generated the most electricity from solar in 2024. Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma generated the most from wind. Texas, in particular, has become an unlikely clean energy champion, demonstrating that when science-based technologies become economically advantageous, political labels matter less than practical benefits.
The Emissions Reality Check
But here’s where the rubber meets the reality: Global greenhouse gas emissions are projected to have reached new highs in 2024. Despite all the progress in renewable energy deployment, America and the world are still moving in the wrong direction on the metric that matters most for climate stability.
As of 2022, the US has achieved about one-third of its 2030 emissions reduction target. Although CAT projections suggest the US will close the gap by an additional 30%–44% by 2030, it is still 23%–37% short of meeting its 2030 emissions reduction target. The gap between scientific necessity and policy implementation remains stubbornly wide.
Corporate America’s Sustainability Dilemma
Overall, 69% of Americans say large business and corporations are doing too little to help reduce the effects of global climate change. Yet corporations find themselves navigating increasingly complex political and regulatory waters. As many US companies align with the SDGs, the impact of the US federal pullback on ESG strategies may be limited. Corporate sustainability efforts are driven more by business strategy, market forces, and stakeholder expectations than by voluntary global frameworks.
The regulatory landscape is becoming more demanding regardless of political preferences. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is implementing new rules requiring public companies to: Report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Assess and disclose climate-related risks. Demonstrate financial accountability for climate strategies.
The Infrastructure Reality That Scientists Warned About
One of the biggest obstacles to implementing science-based energy policies is something scientists have been warning about for years: infrastructure bottlenecks. In 2024 alone, 317 GW of new capacity applied to interconnect in the seven U.S. independent system operators, representing nearly a third of the current installed U.S. power system. It can take years for these projects to connect to the grid and bring power online.
From transmission rights-of-way to carbon sequestration, reforms to federal permitting and siting regulations could help alleviate these difficulties and accelerate the pace of the U.S. energy expansion. This is where science meets bureaucracy, and bureaucracy often wins – at least in the short term.
Public Opinion: Frustrated but Not Hopeless
The American public’s relationship with climate science and policy is complicated. Eight-in-ten Americans say climate news makes them feel frustrated about the level of political disagreement on the issue. A large share (73%) also say climate news has made them feel sad about what’s happening to the Earth. Yet there’s also skepticism: 51% of U.S. adults say they’ve felt suspicious of the groups pushing for action on climate change (a view expressed by 75% of Republicans).
Climate change is not an easy subject for all Americans to make sense of: 48% report feeling confused about all the information out there on the issue. For some, climate news sparks a sense of skepticism: 51% say they have felt suspicious of the groups and people pushing for action on the issue. This confusion creates space for political manipulation of scientific facts.
International Consequences of Domestic Politics
America’s internal science-policy struggles have global ramifications. There are concerns that the US may withdraw from or reduce support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a set of 17 global objectives to address economic, social, environmental challenges. The US decision marks a significant departure from previous bipartisan support for multilateral sustainability frameworks.
During a critical decade for climate action, Project 2025’s architects call for an end to American climate leadership on the international stage, which would harm Americans and prevent the global community from achieving climate goals necessary to maintain a livable planet. If enacted, the policies proposed in Project 2025 would seriously jeopardize the world’s ability to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The Economic Case That Transcends Politics
Despite political headwinds, the economic argument for clean energy is becoming impossible to ignore. In 2024, U.S. power generation reached its highest volume in two decades, driven by growth in renewable energy technologies and by stable natural gas generation capacity. These energy growth sectors face favorable market conditions as the United States eyes rising energy demand.
The United States deployed $338 billion in financing for energy technologies, including renewable energy, EVs, and power grid investment, up from $303 billion in 2023. When the numbers are this big, they start to create their own political momentum, regardless of who’s in office.
Technology Innovation Bridging the Science-Policy Gap
Perhaps the most hopeful development is how technological innovation is making science-based policies easier to implement and harder to reverse. As demand remained unchanged for years, solar, wind and gas together worked to replace coal, transforming the US electricity system. But now that electricity demand is rising fast, the battle is between solar and gas to meet this. And solar is winning – it added more generation than gas in 2024.
Battery storage nearly doubled in 2024, with total installed capacity reaching almost 29 GW – and projected to grow another 47% in 2025. This growth in capacity will help support the grid when variable renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind, are unavailable. Technology is solving problems faster than politics can create them.
The Path Forward: Science, Policy, and Pragmatism
The path toward a sustainable America isn’t straight, and it doesn’t run through Washington alone. However, opportunities remain for climate action at the state and municipality level and for furthering the progress made under the IRA. When federal policy fails, state and local governments often step up to fill the gap, guided by the same scientific evidence that federal policymakers sometimes ignore.
Technological advances and growing corporate accountability offer promising avenues to accelerate progress towards our climate and nature goals. Five key sustainability themes in 2025 highlight both the challenges and opportunities in the global push for decisive action. The future may depend more on technological momentum and economic incentives than on political alignment.
What Science Says About America’s Sustainable Future
The scientific consensus is clear: As the impacts of climate change on countries and businesses continue to unfold in 2025, translating the inevitability of climate impacts into a renewed sense of urgency among global leaders will be critical. Perhaps not, but one thing is clear: we will be one year closer to the point where decisive action will no longer be optional.
Between science and policy lies not just a gap, but a bridge built from economic necessity, technological innovation, and the growing recognition that climate change doesn’t respect political boundaries. The question isn’t whether America will become more sustainable – it’s whether we’ll get there fast enough, and whether we’ll lead or follow in the transition that’s already underway.
