President Donald Trump has characterized his first month in office as a “revolution in common sense.” But his actions say otherwise: He has moved to freeze funds designated to fight climate change and promote clean energy, while also ramping up fossil fuel production that he claims is needed to strengthen the electric grid and bolster the economy and national security.
The president argues that an unreliable grid requires more fossil fuel drilling, but he’s wrong. This approach overlooks the long-term benefits of clean, renewable energy, particularly given the economic progress and potential that we are poised to accomplish nationally and in Illinois.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is expected to channel about $18 billion into large-scale clean power generation and storage in Illinois by 2030, creating an additional 42,000 clean energy jobs. Through the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and other measures, Illinois has set an ambitious goal for using more energy from clean, renewable sources: 40% in five years, 50% by 2040 and 100% by 2050.
Due to a variety of factors, including opposition to wind projects in some central and northeastern counties, we’re falling short of our goals: the state’s renewable percentage stands at just 19%. But officials at the Illinois Power Agency told Grist earlier this month that meeting the other half of our 2030 goal is still achievable with the clean energy projects in development.
Now is not the time to put the brakes on clean, renewable energy, particularly as climate change continues to hit us where it hurts: our wallets. Insurance rates are skyrocketing as climate disasters make entire regions uninsurable. In 2023, insurers lost money in 18 states, forcing them to either abandon high-risk areas or raise premiums to unsustainable levels. From 2018 to 2023, the average cost of home insurance rose nearly 34%, far outpacing inflation. This isn’t just an issue for homeowners — it threatens financial stability across the country. Climate change is driving up food prices, disrupting agriculture, and straining supply chains. Rising prices at the grocery store are just one symptom of a crisis that touches every part of our economy.
If we want to strengthen electric grid reliability, it’s common sense to streamline outdated permitting processes. Clean energy permitting reform has bipartisan appeal in Congress and would quickly accelerate renewable energy projects and build on progress the U.S. has already made in reducing the effects of climate change. Lawmakers in Springfield understood this when they passed a bill in January aimed at boosting development of renewable energy projects to move away from fossil fuels. The legislation was approved by sizable margins in both the Senate and House.
We need common-sense solutions for our energy needs, and that starts with bipartisan leadership to address climate change in a way that is good for the economy and good for the people of Illinois and America. Just this week, nearly two dozen House Republicans urged their party to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, saying that renewables are vital for the U.S. to meet Trump’s goal of becoming “energy dominant.”
If we want to lower costs, protect our homes, and secure a livable future, the Illinois congressional delegation must act now to support clean energy investments and work across the aisle to pass clean energy permitting reform in the 119th Congress.
Anything less would be inconsistent with the “common sense” approach Trump claims to champion.
Joe Tedino is a freelance writer and volunteer with the Chicago chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization.
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