Research Fellow, Climate and Energy Policy · C3 Solutions
David Kemp is a research fellow at C3 Solutions, where he studies and writes about energy and climate policy. His work examines how public policy and market incentives shape energy and environmental outcomes.
Policy
Washington’s latest energy-policy controversy centers on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) recent decision to cancel billions of dollars in grants, including subsidies for clean energy and greenhouse-gas-reduction projects. As companies appeal and policymakers debate the validity of these cancellations, it is worth considering the proper role of government in promoting energy innovation.
Around the Web
The debate over rising electricity prices in Washington has revealed a strange paradox. Republicans blame climate policies and renewable energy subsidies for driving up costs. Democrats, meanwhile, claim rates are rising because the Trump administration rolled back clean-energy incentives. Both stories cannot be entirely accurate. Renewables cannot simultaneously be the cause and the cure for high prices.
World
President Trump’s comments drew quick condemnation, with California Governor Gavin Newsom arguing the US is “ceding our leadership to China.” But anyone seriously claiming that China is a global leader on climate policy has not been paying attention.
