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Climate Change: Has the US Given Up?

EcoFlow

Table of contents

Governments worldwide have been negotiating since the early 1990s to develop a global framework to offset the negative side effects of global warming — now more commonly referred to as climate change.

The United States has a complicated history with international and domestic policy initiatives designed to minimize the impact of the Earth’s rising temperatures.

US Climate Change Policy: A Short History

The United States government has a long and complicated history with global and domestic initiatives to minimize the potential impacts of human-made climate change.

Ratification and withdrawal from the major UN climate change initiatives have largely tracked with which political party is in power.

US Involvement in International Climate and Atmospheric Treaties (Milestones)

Sept 16, 1987: Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer[1] adopted
- Sept 16, 1988: US ratifies.

June 12, 1992: US signs the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)[2] at Rio
- Oct 7, 1992: US Senate ratifies.
Nov 12, 1998: US signs the Kyoto Protocol[3]
- March 2001: President George W. Bush announces the US will not ratify.

Dec 12, 2015: Paris Agreement[4] adopted
- Apr 22, 2016: US signs
- Sept 3, 2016: US formally joins
- Nov 4, 2020: US withdrawal effective
- Feb 19, 2021: US rejoins
- Jan 20, 2025: Executive Order directs second withdrawal[5]

Sept 21, 2022: US Senate approves and US ratifies the Kigali Amendment (HFC phase-down) to the Montreal Protocol

On January 20, 2025, a Presidential Executive Order ended US participation in the Paris Agreement for the second time since signing on in April 2016.

Domestic Renewable Energy Incentives

Federal programs incentivizing renewable energy date all the way back to 1978.

For most of the last 47 years, numerous federal grants and tax credits have been available for wind and solar farms, as well as home solar incentives like the Residential Clean Energy Credit.

Date	Milestone	Who Benefits
Nov 9, 1978	PURPA enacted (creates Qualifying Facilities)	Independent power producers (IPPs), small renewables, cogeneration projects
Oct 24, 1992	Energy Policy Act establishes Production Tax Credit (PTC, IRC §45)	Wind developers (and later other renewables) via per-kWh tax credits
Aug 8, 2005	Energy Policy Act expands Investment Tax Credit (ITC, §48) and creates DOE Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program	Solar developers (utility & commercial). Utility-scale projects access loan guarantees
Feb 17, 2009	ARRA: Section 1603 cash grants + §48C Advanced Energy Project Credit	Developers monetize credits via grants; clean-energy manufacturers gain tax credits
May 13, 2002. Reauthorized 2008 & 2014	USDA REAP program (grants/loans for rural renewables & efficiency)	Farmers and rural small businesses installing solar, wind, biogas, and efficiency projects
Dec 18, 2015	PATH Act/Consolidated Appropriations Act: multi-year extensions & phase-downs for PTC/ITC	Renewable developers, residential/commercial solar customers, wind sector
Nov 15, 2021	Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act: expands DOE Title 17 authority	Utility-scale renewables, transmission, decarbonization projects
Aug 16, 2022	Inflation Reduction Act: long-term extensions, tech-neutral §45Y/§48E, §45X manufacturing credit, §25D Residential Clean Energy Credit	Wind/solar developers, utilities, manufacturers, nonprofits, co-ops, tribes, households (solar + storage)
Oct 28, 2024 & Jan 2025	Treasury/IRS final rules for §45X, §45Y, §48E (implementing IRA)	Manufacturers and developers gain certainty on compliance and qualification

However, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), policy changes, and presidential Executive Orders have essentially phased out all major renewable energy incentives for utility-scale wind and solar.

The OBBBA also ends the 30% solar tax credit originally scheduled to run until 2032.

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Changes to US Renewable Energy Incentives in 2025

Program	Originally Scheduled Expiration	Current End Date / Status	Mechanism
Clean Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) IRC §45Y	Earliest 2032 (continues past 2032 until emissions targets met under IRA)	New eligibility cutoff for projects beginning construction after Jul 5, 2026; must be placed in service by Dec 31, 2027 to claim.	Changed by OBBBA statute
Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (ITC) — IRC §48E	Earliest 2032 (continues past 2032 until emissions targets met under IRA)	New eligibility cutoff for projects beginning construction after Jul 5, 2026; must be placed in service by Dec 31, 2027 to claim.	Changed by OBBBA statute
Residential Clean Energy Credit — IRC §25D	30% through 2032; 26% in 2033; 22% in 2034	Eliminated for systems installed after 2025.	Changed by OBBBA statute
Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit [IRC §45V]	Available for facilities beginning construction before 2033; 10-year credit period per facility	Eligibility limited to facilities beginning construction before Jan 1, 2028.	Changed by OBBBA statute
Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit [IRC §45X] (wind component eligibility)	Phases down starting 2030; fully phases out after 2032 (except critical minerals)	Eligibility for many wind components curtailed/removed effective Jul 4, 2025 (program continues for other components).	Changed by OBBBA statute
EPA “Solar for All” Grants (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund)	No fixed statutory end; multi-year grant performance periods (awards made in 2024)	Program canceled Aug 7, 2025; grants rescinded/terminated.	Program rescinded by OBBBA statute & administrative action

Eligible homeowners now have until December 31st, 2026, to purchase a qualified solar generator or whole-home battery backup solution.

Homeowners installing previously eligible home solar panel systems on January 1, 2026, or later will no longer receive a 30% nonrefundable federal income tax credit against their total costs.

The end of the Residential Clean Energy Credit (IRS 25d) and other popular programs, like the EV Tax Credit, may discourage many Americans from investing in clean energy at home or on the road.

Savings through the IRS 25d could be substantial.

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Add 8 x EcoFlow 400W Rigid Solar Panels for the sale price of $3,996* for a total system cost of $10,294 (not including sales tax if applicable), and eligible homeowners can save over $3,000 on a whole-home backup generator system if purchased before December 31st, 2025.

The 30% tax credit is so generous that many homeowners are rushing to install solar power systems before the end of this year.

Potential Impacts of Federal Climate Change Policies

The phasing out and elimination of federal incentives for wind and solar is expected to have a chilling effect on the renewable energy sector, both at the utility-scale level and installations for home.

Because many of the incentives don’t end until December 31st, 2026, or later, it’s impossible to know with certainty what the long-term effects of scheduled policies will be on increasing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to human-made climate change.

However, many expert forecasts predict the negative consequences of eliminating renewable energy incentives to be severe.

A recent article in Nature claims that current policies will lead to “higher greenhouse-gas emissions, fewer jobs, more expensive energy and dirtier air that kills more people…”

In addition to eliminating tax incentives, the Department of Energy recently announced its intention to “cancel more than $13 billion in funds that the Biden administration had pledged to subsidize wind, solar, batteries and electric vehicles,” according to Reuters.

(Source: FERC via The Washington Post)

Despite the rollback of federal incentives and funding cutbacks, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) expects wind and solar power to be the leading sources of new electricity generation capacity, as they have been for many years.

However, according to Energy Department data, “Solar power generates less than 3% of global energy. The vast majority of the global economy runs on oil, gas, and coal.”

Cutbacks in the clean energy sector not only have potentially negative impacts on climate change, but also on the US economy.

The Financial Times reports that “The Trump administration’s cuts to the clean energy industry have led to 20,000 job losses in the US and threatened almost $70bn in project investments, according to [Climate Power], a climate advocacy group.”

What’s Next for Climate Change Policy in the US?

On September 23, 2025, President Donald J. Trump addressed the UN General Assembly on many issues, including renewable energy and climate change.

According to The Washington Post, President Trump stated, “[...] the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world. You need… traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again.”

He continued, “The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions, and they’re heading down a path of total destruction.”

Given President Trump’s repeated criticisms of the science behind greenhouse emissions and their impacts on rising global temperatures, increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and other potential symptoms of human-made climate change, it’s unlikely that there will be new international or domestic net-zero or renewable energy initiatives in the near to mid-term.

*As of 9/26/25. Prices subject to change.