Policy

Trellis Poll: 85% say they’d be hurt by government clean energy credit cuts

The majority of respondents cite financial hardship to their organizations. Read More

By Leah Garden May 20, 2025

Sustainability professionals confirmed to Trellis that government clean energy cuts are a barrier to financial success. Source: Shutterstock/northallertonman

Key Takeaways:

Many organizations across multiple industries expressed concern that reduced government support would cripple key revenue streams and halt sustainability initiatives.
Respondents, ranging from CEOs to climate consultants, voiced strong opposition to the cuts, with no one reporting their organization would benefit from the proposed reductions.

You don’t have to track every move Congress makes to know that it’s currently debating whether to rescind or prematurely wind down multiple energy credits and funds established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee released a proposed budget that included cutting multiple IRA credits including the investment tax credit (ITC) and nuclear power credit, not to mention gutting the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office (LPO), the hub of the billions of dollars in clean energy grants created in the IRA.

With this new reality in mind, Trellis wanted to know how sustainability professionals felt about these attacks and their potential impact. Of the dozens who responded to our query, some 85 percent told us that that their organization would be negatively affected, directly or indirectly. (The remaining 15 percent were either unsure or said their work would not be affected.)

How would cuts in government loans and credits affect your organization?

Job titles of the respondents included Climate Solutions Lead, Senior Director of Communications, CEO, Net-Zero Strategy Consultant and Founder.

‘Crippled revenue streams’

When asked how the government cuts would affect their organizations, the majority of respondents cited financial hardship.

“As a general contractor that builds buildings, our clients rely heavily on the clean energy credits,” wrote one anonymous responder.

Another explained, “We are part of the emerging CCUS [Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage] industry, and funding cutbacks will cripple that revenue stream for us.”

It’s worth noting that some responses were written with intentional emphasis. A selection:

“MY BUSINESS IS BASED ON ENERGY STAR BUILDING CERTIFICATION.”
“WE ARE A NON-PROFIT RECEIVING IRA FUNDS THAT ARE SUPPORTING TREE PLANTING IN OUR CITY. THOSE FUNDS ARE AT RISK AND WOULD ELIMINATE THE PLANTING OF THOUSANDS OF URBAN TREES IN AREAS WITH LITTLE TO NO SHADE CURRENTLY.”