Has Trump Doomed Progress on Climate Change? | The Ezra Klein Show

Biden passed the most ambitious climate legislation in American history. Trump just shredded it. What does that mean for the future of renewable energy in America? Where does the climate movement go from here? And is it too late for us to avert climate catastrophe? To answer these questions, I invited onto the show two climate experts: Jesse Jenkins, who is a leading climate modeler and a professor at Princeton University, where he runs the Princeton ZERO Lab, and Jane Flegal, who is the executive director of the Blue Horizons Foundation and served on the Biden administration’s climate policy team. We discuss how far Trump’s policies have set us back, the lessons the climate movement should learn from this loss and what the next wave of climate politics may look like. 00:00 Intro 01:48 The Inflation Reduction Act's Climate Investments 07:41 Impact of the New Bill on Clean Energy 11:48 Surviving Clean Energy Policies and Republican Stances 19:25 The Politics and Economics of Energy Transition 30:49 New Energy Demands and Grid Challenges 51:43 Policy Recommendations and Future Outlook 57:24 Investment Slowdown and Geopolitics of EVs 01:05:21 Promising Technologies and Climate Manipulation 01:14:35 Geoengineering and Political Realities 01:24:26 Book Recommendations Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/op... Watch more on ‪‪@EzraKleinShow‬ Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-...