Harris adviser calls for ‘Clean Energy Marshall Plan’

Brian Deese, a former White House adviser who now advises the Harris campaign, is calling for a “Clean Energy Marshall Plan.”

Outlining his vision in an essay in Foreign Affairs this week, Deese said that such a plan would both promote U.S. interests and help combat climate change. 

He specifically called for a plan that “finances foreign deployment of U.S. clean energy technology, secures more resilient supply chains, and creates a new, more balanced trade regime that encourages the development and implementation of clean energy technology.”

Deese suggested doing so through a finance authority that would seek to bring down costs for emerging economies to invest in low-carbon technology. He called for more flexibility than is allowed under current authority, citing income standards that prevent investment in Chilean lithium and labor standards that impede investment in Congolese lithium. 

In the essay, Deese also called for the creation of a strategic reserve of minerals that can be used in climate-friendly energy technology and carbon-based import tariffs. 

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it was supporting Deese’s plan. 

President Biden in 2022 signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a massive domestic investment into renewable and other low-carbon energy sources. 

The Marshall Plan was economic aid provided by the U.S. to Europe after World War II. The effort also created markets for U.S. products and bolstered American trade and other foreign relationships.

Brett Samuels contributed.