James Nadel
The U.S. Department of Energy is the nation’s “Solutions Department,” as Secretary Granholm states, and no problem demands solutions quite like the climate emergency.
The DOE Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan frames its contribution to federal climate action, but what are the foundations upon which it rests? One can assess the prospects for meaningful DOE climate action by looking at three fundamental pillars: policy, resources, and people.
Policy
A 2021 Executive Order (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) established climate stewardship as an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security. It directs the federal government to drive climate risk assessment and mitigation nationwide and promotes workforce development in clean energy. In a nutshell, DOE aspires to lead by example. Not only will it utilize the capabilities of its 17 National Laboratories to advance the clean energy solutions necessary to mitigate emissions nationwide, but it will also reduce emissions at its own field sites and throughout its vehicle fleet, while undertaking assessment and resilience measures necessary to adapt these sites to climate-exacerbated natural hazards.
Resources
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, frequently referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allocated $62 billion to DOE. These resources represent a second pillar of climate action. The mission for this money covers four general areas: investing in American industry and workers; providing clean and efficient energy for communities; ensuring that this energy is reliable; and developing, demonstrating, and deploying innovative technologies.
People
The third pillar of DOE’s commitment involves its people. The newly created “Clean Energy Corps,” is charged with investing the $62 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The initiative is recruiting 1,000 new employees using a special hiring authority, to serve in a variety of roles and offices across the agency. This infusion of human capital will comprise people from a broad spectrum of professional backgrounds, from business and finance, to science and engineering, to public policy and project management. What they will all have in common is a drive to focus their expertise on the climate emergency. The Clean Energy Corps has a strong chance to deliver meaningful climate action at DOE by building on new policies and funding, while taking advantage of two indispensable human resources: talent and passion.