Biden’s climate chief says clean energy spending is winning over Americans

By Josh Siegel | 03/08/2024 06:47 AM EST

Ali Zaidi says a surge in clean energy manufacturing and renewable power rollout is drawing support, although many people appear unaware of the historic investments made by the Biden administration.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi speaks during a press briefing.

The president’s top climate adviser, Ali Zaidi, says President Joe Biden’s policies are kicking off a job-creating economic transformation that will tackle the fundamental causes of climate change. Evan Vucci/AP

Climate activists accuse President Joe Biden of doing too little to move the U.S. away from fossil fuels. Polls show that many voters don’t know about Biden’s biggest green initiatives.

But the president’s top climate adviser says Biden’s policies are kicking off a job-creating economic transformation that will tackle the fundamental causes of climate change — a titanic opportunity that would be squandered if Donald Trump regains the White House.

And the American people get it, Ali Zaidi told the POLITICO Energy podcast. He said the president will deliver that message forcefully in Thursday’s State of the Union address.

Advertisement

Biden will show that he’s “approached climate in a fundamentally different way” than previous U.S. presidents, Zaidi said — “not as a sidecar or a sideshow to his national security or his economic or domestic agenda, but as a thread that’s woven through everything.”

GET FULL ACCESS