At Harvard Talk, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi ’08 Says Biden’s Climate Policy Will Outlast His Term

White House National Climate Advisor Ali A. Zaidi ’08 said at a Harvard talk Wednesday that the Biden administration’s climate policies would be resilient in the face of a Republican-controlled Congress and President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

In his last speech in office, hosted by the Salata Institute for Climate Sustainability, Zaidi struck a cautiously optimistic tone — even in the face of Trump’s long-standing hostility to climate laws.

During his first term, Trump never convened an equivalent to the Climate Policy Office, which Zaidi has led since 2022. But Zaidi said Republicans may be willing to work across the aisle on climate legislation that is framed in other terms.

“We have a track record of bipartisan action of Republican and Democratic administrations moving forward the cause, whether they label it climate action, or they label it the work of economic security or geopolitical risk management,” Zaidi said.

Zaidi, who spent four years working in Biden’s White House, touted the outgoing president’s track record on climate.

He argued that the Biden administration’s market-focused policies — including tax credits for low-carbon energy development and measures aimed at boosting U.S. electric vehicle battery production — are likely to lead to durable change.

He said Biden’s signature climate law — the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in 2022 — focused on making green energy and sustainable technology a safe bet for market actors and investors, incentivizing further investment in mitigating climate change.

“The success comes from pairing catalytic public investments, and tax credits, and standards that set a signal to the market that spurs long term investment,” Zaidi said regarding how he predicts the U.S. will decrease emissions by 61 to 66 percent by 2035, a goal set under the 2024 Paris Agreement.

Zaidi said his office thinks those reductions remain plausible because state and local climate policy will continue to drive a push to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 — despite indications Trump’s White House will “seek to deliver a U-turn” against climate action.

“What we found is that the technology, the economics and the course that has been set not just by the federal government, but by state and local governments can help us achieve this target,” Zaidi said.

Zaidi also argued against pessimistic views of artificial intelligence projects, which some scientists have warned could slow efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Data centers — which are needed to power AI models — consume vast amounts of electricity, and a December report from the U.S. Department of Energy estimated they could account for between seven and 12 percent of American energy usage in 2028.

“There’s a lot that’s been written about this being the head wind that will knock us off course. It’s wrong,” Zaidi said, pointing to an executive order that Biden signed Tuesday calling for the construction of clean energy facilities on federal land to power data centers.

But Zaidi juxtaposed ongoing climate mitigation efforts with the stark costs of extreme heat and natural disasters. He started his talk by describing the wildfires near Los Angeles — which have displaced more than 100,000 people —as a reminder of the urgency of the climate crisis.

“It’s a heavy moment that reminds us that there are no climate havens anymore,” Zaidi said.

— Staff Writer Mackenzie L. Boucher can be reached at mackenzie.boucher@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Mactruck0528.