Over the last 10 months, the Trump administration’s sweeping rollbacks of critical green energy programs have stalled momentum toward decarbonization, leaving both U.S. industries and international partners scrambling to keep climate goals on track.

"In the energy transition world, it’s been a sea change from the prior administration to the new administration," said Holland & Knight international energy project attorney George Humphrey, during an October 21 panel discussion at 2025's One Ocean Week conference in Seattle, Washington.

Almost immediately after taking office in late-January, President Donald Trump sent a clear signal to the world that transitioning to green energy was not going to be a priority under his administration. On January 20, Trump signed an order to begin withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, made it so federal waters couldn't be used for offshore wind leasing, and paused all permitting for wind projects. In the ensuing weeks, his administration proceeded to dismantle core climate programs at home, delay efficiency standards for appliances, roll back vehicle emissions rules, and launch reviews to repeal greenhouse gas limits on power plants.

Then in October, Trump's Department of Energy announced that it would also be canceling more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era grants for hundreds of state-level green energy projects, including a $1 billion initiative in Washington state that would have built out robust supply chain infrastructure supporting hydrogen-powered trucks, factories, ships and power plants. As a result, states and regions face a "patchwork of regulatory uncertainty," said Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance treasurer Selena Elmer at One Ocean Week, as coalitions have had to search for new sources of funding for projects viewed as critical to meeting ambitious climate goals. 

That uncertainty has rippled through every corner of the clean-energy sector, from ports that have been forced to shelve infrastructure upgrades supporting offshore wind projects, to manufacturers of hydrogen, solar and battery technologies who have slowed or suspended new factory plans over fears that shifting federal policies could undermine long-term returns on clean-energy investments. Environmental advocacy group E2 estimates that, in February and March alone, 13 investments in U.S. clean energy manufacturing projects worth a combined $5 billion were canceled or downsized. According to data from Wellesley College researchers, 26 other clean energy projects totaling $27.6 billion in capital were paused or canceled between January and the end of July.

The impacts of the Trump administration's energy policies have extended well past U.S. borders as well, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) voting on October 17 to postpone passing its framework for taxing global shipping emissions to 2026, after Trump threatened to impose sanctions against any nations that supported the plan. Without that plan in place, environmental advocates have warned that the delay could jeopardize the IMO's ability to achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and hinder progress toward benchmark goals in 2030 and 2040. 

Despite those obstacles though, speakers at One Ocean Week remained optimistic that local and state-level collaborations featuring a diverse array of public and private stakeholders could still help bridge funding gaps for green initiatives, led by climate-forward states like Washington.

"Long after the current president has moved on, Washington state will still be leading the fight against climate change, and we're going to do that with or without the federal government," said Washington state lawmaker Joe Fitzgibbon.

Others emphasized how regional initiatives like Washington state’s clean-energy partnerships have already kept decarbonization projects moving forward, even as national policies have shifted or stalled. In recent years, those partnerships have included the state's Clean Energy Fund, which offers grants and low-cost financing to clean energy projects for small businesses, as well as the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, which brings together the state government, industry associations and research labs to partner on scaling up emerging low-carbon technologies. 

Those local initiatives also underscore a broader view shared by One Ocean Week panelists, that even as federal policy pulls back, the work of building a cleaner, low-carbon future is continuing in states and communities determined to make progress on their own terms.

"We are not taking a single step backward," said Fitzgibbon.