'Threatening the fortune of our planet': Bernie Sanders raises alarm over Trump's clean energy cuts

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has cut billions in support for clean energy projects across the states and pushed less sustainable energy sources such as coal instead. His policies have largely been criticized by experts and Democrats, with Sen. Bernie Sanders recently pointing to Europe's heatwave and America's drought to slam the administration's negligence on climate change.

In June, temperature records across Europe have tumbled, with France experiencing its hottest day ever, Spain reaching its highest daily average since 1950, and the U.K facing record heat for the month. Extreme heat warnings were also issued in Germany, Poland, and the Balkans, as per NBC. Back in the U.S., weather forecasters have observed a rare "Super El Niño" forming that could devastate the farm economy with a multi-year drought amid pressures from drought-like conditions, rising gas prices, and tariff hits. even more, Fortune reported, citing AccuWeather. 

Thus, citing these conditions, Sanders claimed that the Trump administration is worsening the situation by ignoring climate change and rolling back sustainable energy measures. "There is a record-breaking heat wave in Europe, and hundreds are dying. There is a drought all across America, and farmers are going out of business. Yet, Trump thinks climate change is a "hoax" and cuts funding for sustainable energy," he wrote in a post on X. "Insane. He is threatening the very future of our planet." 

Back in 2025, the Trump administration cancelled $7.6bn in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states. The energy department at the time said 223 projects were terminated after a review found that they did not "adequately advance" the nation's energy needs or were not economically viable, as per The Guardian. Furthermore, Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced several rollbacks to clean energy projects as well.

This year, the administration halted approvals for over 165 onshore wind projects, citing national security concerns from the Pentagon, Financial Times reported. The affected projects ⁠include wind farms that were awaiting final sign-off, while others were amid negotiations, and some did not typically require oversight from the Pentagon. In another move, the Interior Department said it would pay $765 million to the energy developer Invenergy to abandon plans to build wind farms in the Atlantic and Pacific, the New York Times reported. 

Furthermore, earlier this month, Trump invoked the special Defense Production Act, a 1950 law that grants the president authority over industries deemed critical to national security, to direct millions of dollars to push coal. President Trump pushed $425 million in upgrades to 13 coal-fired power plants and $75 million to support the export of coal outside of the U.S. by developing the West ​Gateway coal export terminal in Oakland, California, as per Reuters.

These measures come as climate change continues to drive up temperatures around the world, with Europe being the fastest-warming continent, according to the Copernicus climate service. The U.S. is under threat, too, as previous Super El Niño instances resulted in dry conditions in the Plains states for two to three years, and according to AccuWeather's founder and Executive Chair, Joel Myers, the upcoming one can raise the possibility of a "mini-Dust Bowl" that would stress crucial crops like soybeans.