Cleaner Economy Coalition Launches to Promote American Jobs and Competitiveness
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Announced today, the Cleaner Economy Coalition is a new 501(c)(4) advocacy organization supporting policies that promote the competitiveness of American manufacturers and workers as the central strategy for lowering global emissions.
In a fiercely competitive global economy for energy intensive products, complex manufactured goods, and advanced energy technologies, the coalition will work with federal and state policymakers to advance policies that leverage our cleaner American economy, support U.S. manufacturers in sectors across the economy, and drive investment, jobs, and opportunities to U.S. communities.
“American businesses and workers are responsible for some of the cleanest manufacturing in the world yet receive little market reward for their superior environmental performance. Additionally, the U.S. is losing the race to be a leading provider in the $130 trillion advanced energy technology market,” said Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Cleaner Economy Coalition. “The Cleaner Economy Coalition will champion approaches that focus on advancing the competitiveness of U.S. industry, leveraging their cleaner operations and technological innovation as central to the strategy for lowering global emissions.”
The coalition’s focus includes energy intensive industries like steel, aluminum, and chemicals; complex goods like automobiles, electronics, and machinery; as well as advanced energy technologies.
The types of approaches being promoted by the Cleaner Economy Coalition include:
Policies that create more demand for U.S. manufactured goods;
Policies to support U.S. manufacturers in building on their world-leading cleaner operations; and
Policies to position U.S. manufacturers to better compete in the advanced energy markets of the future.
The group will be supported by a range of corporate and philanthropic partners and will work closely with the Climate Leadership Council, a think tank recognized for its research on America’s Carbon Advantage and its influence among Republicans and Democrats.
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The Cleaner Economy Coalition works to drive American jobs and competitiveness by leveraging our cleaner economy and enabling U.S. manufacturers to lead in advanced energy technologies.
Axios: New lobbying player brings Trump-ready pitch on manufacturing
From Axios | by Ben Geman | March 21, 2025
A new group aims to bolster U.S. manufacturing via policies that ensure markets reward goods made more cleanly than competitors abroad.
Why it matters: The Cleaner Economy Coalition sees an opening in the Trump era even as it preps for much longer-term work.
Its first outside lobbyists are Trump-world and Capitol Hill GOP leadership vets.
Driving the news: It's a new affiliate of the Climate Leadership Council (CLC), a group that GOP elder statesmen launched in 2017.
The Cleaner Economy Coalition is a 501(c)(4) — a nonprofit class with a free hand to make lobbying and advocacy its main focus.
State of play: "We need an approach that starts with promoting U.S. competitiveness. That has to be the central component to any U.S. climate policy," Greg Bertelsen, the CEO of the CLC who's also heading the new group.
"We're leaving huge economic points on the board today, and we are risking ceding enormous economic opportunity in the future," he said.
U.S. manufacturing is already among the world's cleanest, "but in the global marketplace, they're getting almost no benefit for that."
What we're watching: The coalition sees chances to boost heavy industries (think steel, chemicals, cars and more) and thrive in growing global markets for advanced energy equipment.
Examples of policy goals include trade penalties against high-CO2 imports and retaining the IRA credit, called 45X, for manufacturing clean energy goods.
But they'll push a wide range of ideas. Not among them: "carbon dividends" (a version of a carbon tax) that have been among the CLC's big goals.
The intrigue: It has retained Michael Best Strategies, with lobbyists including Alexander Angelson, a legislative affairs aide in the first Trump White House.
There's also a trio of former aides to House Speaker Mike Johnson and ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy: Jason Yaworske, Brittan Specht and Preston Hill.
They've also brought on MO Strategies. Founder and GOP vet Marty Obst, who had senior roles in Trump's 2016 and 2020 races, and Rob Goad, a former Trump White House adviser, are listed.
"Right now, we are focused on getting in front of the administration and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle," Bertelsen said, though discussions about the new group began over a year ago.
The annual budget will be over seven figures. The CLC is currently a $4 million-plus outfit, and Bertelsen said the new affiliate will start below that, although where it eventually ends up is uncertain.
It will be funded via corporate contributions and "others who are aligned with our mission."
The bottom line: There's a "simple two-part test" for policy — does it make U.S. companies more competitive, and does it lower global emissions, Bertelsen said.
"If the answer to the first question is 'yes,' in most instances the answer to the second question is going to be 'yes' as well."