--- title: What is the Future of U.S. Climate Policy? description: Climate policy discussions have hit a fever pitch as companies, advocates, and officials try to figure out the new rules of the road. canonical: https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-12-06T19:29:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-10T23:14:58.448Z article:section: Climate og:title: What is the Future of U.S. Climate Policy? og:description: Companies, advocates, and officials are trying to figure out the new rules of the road. og:url: https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b92ec9ace8e58d0/698b248a77c528a9405a2c4e/climate-policy-capitol-hill.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: The Sun Rises Over Washington The Day After The Midterm Elections og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What is the Future of U.S. Climate Policy? twitter:description: Companies, advocates, and officials are trying to figure out the new rules of the road. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b92ec9ace8e58d0/698b248a77c528a9405a2c4e/climate-policy-capitol-hill.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Everyone Is Asking What The Future of U.S. Climate Policy Will Be > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=447a5d57-99b0-476b-8a5c-ba902da34946&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=447a5d57-99b0-476b-8a5c-ba902da34946&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=447a5d57-99b0-476b-8a5c-ba902da34946&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 6, 2024 7:29 PM UTC  The US Capitol dome is seen from the base of the Washington Monument as the sun rises in Nov. 2022 The US Capitol dome is seen from the base of the Washington Monument as the sun rises in Nov. 2022 Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 6, 2024 7:29 PM UTC I was still idling in my Thanksgiving vacation vibes as I boarded my flight back to Washington D.C. on Monday and was jolted back into the climate conversation seated just behind a clean tech founder. And that’s how it’s been this week: bumping into energy and climate people from across the country at nearly every turn. With the 2024 election and [U.N. climate conference](https://time.com/7177517/new-era-climate-geopolitics-cop29/) firmly in the rearview mirror, climate policy discussions have hit a feverpitch in the U.S. capital as companies, advocates, and officials try to figure out the new rules of the road. And there are no easy answers. First and foremost is the future of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden’s landmark climate spending bill. I’ve written about the [future of the law](https://time.com/6276841/debt-ceiling-climate-change-republicans-ira/) [several times](https://time.com/6310299/can-climate-policy-survive-a-future-gop-administration/) [before](https://time.com/6961663/the-iras-new-conventional-wisdom/), so I won’t repeat too much here, but in short I’ve argued that political dynamics have made it unlikely that the law would be repealed in full even if parts of it are scaled back. In Washington, conversations about what parts might be targeted—the preferred wording is “with a scalpel”—have now gotten specific. And everyone is looking to read the tea leaves. On multiple occasions this week, I have found myself in conversations analyzing the precise wording in an August [letter](https://garbarino.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/garbarino.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/FINAL%20Credits%20Letter%202024.08.06.pdf) from 18 Republican members of Congress who pushed back at attempts to repeal the law. The conventional wisdom is that tax credits for electric vehicles are vulnerable while incentives to help Republican favored technologies like carbon capture and storage are likely safe. But the truth is that no one really knows what dynamic will play out between President-elect Donald Trump and a Congress with slim Republican control. On Capitol Hill this week, lobbyists and corporate executives pounded the pavement to make their case about what they hope will remain. The future of government programs like the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, which lends money to companies advancing clean technologies, is also a key question. The office, known as LPO, hosted a long-plannedgathering of clean technology companies in Washington this week called Deploy24 as a [vigorous debate](https://www.eenews.net/articles/republicans-mull-fate-of-doe-loan-program-2/) has ensued among Republicans about whether to target the program. Republicans often say the LPO represents a misuse of federal tax dollars—even as those loans generate a return for the federal government while aiding the U.S. private sector. On Thursday, [Jigar Shah](https://time.com/6277072/jigar-shah-interview-climate-tech/), who runs LPO, said that companies expect the office to continue giving out loans. “We're operating the loan programs office as an institution,” he said at a breakfast with reporters on the sidelines of Deploy24\. And then there are the policies that may not seem directly related to climate, but nonetheless have the potential to shape the U.S. decarbonization story. Perhaps no such policy area is more important than [trade](https://time.com/7178427/climate-trade-policy-baku-cop29/). If Trump implements the full set of tariffs and trade barriers as promised, it would rattle the global economy—including disrupting the supply chains necessary for clean technologies and decarbonization both in the U.S. and around the world. Even amid all this uncertainty, a sense of optimism remains. For years, companies have said they support climate policy but rank it low as a lobbying priority. While corporate policy positions are crafted around the bottomline, it is nonetheless remarkable to see companies now lobbying on behalf of what is fundamentally climate policy. The question is to what extent—and to whom—policymakers listen ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/"},"headline":"Everyone Is Asking What The Future of U.S. Climate Policy Will Be","datePublished":"2024-12-06T19:29:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-10T23:14:58.448Z","description":"Climate policy discussions have hit a fever pitch as companies, advocates, and officials try to figure out the new rules of the road.","url":"https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/","keywords":["Leadership Report","feat-audio"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b92ec9ace8e58d0/698b248a77c528a9405a2c4e/climate-policy-capitol-hill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b92ec9ace8e58d0/698b248a77c528a9405a2c4e/climate-policy-capitol-hill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Sun Rises Over Washington The Day After The Midterm Elections","caption":"The Sun Rises Over Washington The Day After The Midterm Elections","creditText":"Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/co2-leadership-report/","name":"Leadership Report"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7200439/what-is-the-future-of-us-climate-policy/","name":"Everyone Is Asking What The Future of U.S. Climate Policy Will Be"}}]}] ```