The Greatest Con Job on Earth

Last week, at the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump called climate change “the greatest con job.” He insisted that climate science and global warming were “created by stupid people”, and said that Europe is being devastated by renewable energy. By “devastated,” Trump must have been referring to the record-breaking production by renewables that accounted for 22% of the total electricity output in the EU in June. And to further deny and distract from this growing embrace of renewables outside of the US, he added, “I’ve been right about everything, and I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail.”

What a way to kick off Climate Week NYC! I’m guessing Trump wasn’t invited to the Energy Compact breakout session which pledged $1.6 trillion in investment to enhance renewable energy and improve energy accessibility, most vitally to the 660 million people in the world without electricity.

In 2024, the “greatest con job” accounted for 24% of the United States’ total electricity generation. Nearly 90% of the generation added to the national grid last year was from renewable energy! According to KPMG, $34B worth of US clean energy deals were closed in the first half of 2025 — again, setting a record. So Trump’s claim not only ignores these facts, but posits that even the greatest investor of his generation, Warren Buffett, and his clean energy holdings, also got scammed.

Clean Energy Jobs

Is the “the greatest con job” creating actual American jobs? YES! And according to this amazing report by E2, renewables employment is growing about three times faster than the overall US job market. Clean energy jobs represent 82% of all new energy sector jobs. I guess there is not much room left for ‘clean coal’ job creation after all. In fact, Americans hold three times as many positions in renewable energy than in coal, oil, and gas combined.

As I’ve highlighted multiple times in Recruiter’s Outlook, and as PV Magazine reported last week, all of this job creation is at risk because of President Trump’s rhetoric, project obstructions, and all-out war against renewable energy. As I am writing, just today, Spruce Power announced layoffs and Pine Gate is preparing for bankruptcy. Under this administration, if we continue to hear false claims that upend the success of renewables and counter the vital need for them, we will continue to suffer this flow of negative news. It’s up to our entire industry to fight back against false information. I will continue to do my part to keep broadcasting the facts and sound the alarm about the scale of the jobs that we stand to lose in the face of ignorance.

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