When Climate Policy Backslides, So Does Our Chance to Thrive
What the U.S. is getting dangerously wrong, and how it will affect communities at highest risk
As I’ve been living in the UK for the summer, one thing has felt refreshingly simple: climate change isn’t up for debate.
At least among everyday people, it’s treated as fact. Reusable bags are the norm. Mugs instead of paper cups are not the exception. Every restaurant has vegan options. Even in casual conversation, climate awareness doesn’t feel politicized. It feels lived.
Yet this week, as I sip my matcha in a London café, my reusable cup in hand, the news across the borders feels like a gut punch.
The National Climate Assessment, the most trusted U.S. report on climate impacts, may soon be rewritten by political appointees, including Chris Wright, a former oil and gas executive, now U.S. Energy Secretary. This is more than bureaucratic tinkering. It’s a direct threat to the scientific integrity of climate policymaking. It undermines public trust in one of our most important tools for understanding and preparing for the future. Conflict of interest, anyone?
UBS has just withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, joining a quiet but growing list: JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, and Bank of Montreal. These are institutions with the financial power to fund green infrastructure, clean energy innovation, and a more resilient future. When capital pulls out, so does our ability to adapt equitably. And without alignment between finance and climate goals, vulnerable communities get left further behind.
A revived federal solar tax credit (a lifeline for low- and middle-income families to adopt rooftop solar) was repealed. The expected result? A 33% drop in rooftop solar installations next year. This isn’t just about emissions. It’s about families losing the power (literally) to generate clean energy, cut bills, and gain independence from volatile energy markets.
I immigrated to the U.S. from Peru when I was 7. My mother and I fled a collapsing political system. When I first got to the USA, I shared a room with three other people. I know what it means to live without reliable infrastructure, without trust in institutions, without choices.
So when I hear about science being politicized, banks pulling out of climate commitments, and energy equity slipping through the cracks, it’s not abstract.
It’s personal.
When we weaken science, defund solutions, and let powerful institutions walk away from the hard work of adaptation, it’s not the wealthy who suffer first.
It’s families choosing between food and electricity. Communities still waiting for public transit, clean water, or safe housing. Kids who don’t yet know they’ll inherit worse air and fewer options.
Thriving isn’t just about GDP or carbon offsets. Thriving means giving people the tools, trust, and stability to build secure, healthy, sustainable lives.
We can’t afford to backslide now. Not when the stakes are this high. Not when the window to act is closing. Not when we know exactly who gets left behind first (and why).
If this resonated, please share or comment with how climate policy is showing up in your community.
And if you work in science, banking, or energy, what do you think it would take to truly align your sector with a thriving future?
Until next week,
—Arianna