Former Vice President Al Gore was quick to criticize President Donald Trump’s declaring an end to the “war on American energy,” suggesting that Trump should pay attention to the growth of the solar industry.
“We have ended the war on American Energy — and we have ended the war on clean coal,” Trump said in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night. “We are now an exporter of energy to the world.”
In response, Gore tweeted that “America should lead on clean energy,” adding that “US solar jobs are growing 17X the average job growth.”
There is no war on American energy. America should lead on clean energy! Smart leaders are tapping into this unprecedented opportunity. Doesn’t @RealDonaldTrump know that US solar jobs are growing 17X the average job growth? #SOTU
— Al Gore (@algore) January 31, 2018
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It’s an interesting reaction, given the Trump administration’s imposing of tariffs on imported solar cells and modules. Solar industry experts say the tariffs will likely make panels — and the energy they produce — slightly more expensive, though it’s hardly the death blow activists warned about.
Gore’s been promoting the solar industry for years, but he actually defended Trump’s tariff decision at the World Economic Forum. Gore clearly disagreed, but pointed out the decision was somewhat of a compromise.
“I don’t typically defend him,” Gore said in Davos, Switzerland in January.
“I will say in this case it did not start with him,” Gore said. “This was a trade action brought by private companies. They chose a kind of a midpoint in the range of alternatives.”
“Could have been handled differently, should have been handled differently, but it’s not an utter catastrophe,” Gore said.
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