President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t think climate change is a problem and wants the government to stop spending money on what he calls a “scam” and a “scam.” Now the question is whether he will — or even can — stop the momentum for a clean energy industry that has received a big infusion of cash under President Biden.

When Trump takes over the White House in January, he will find a country repurposing its power grids to accommodate clean energy, deploying electric vehicles and building wind turbines and solar farms.

But the incoming Trump administration could significantly slow that transition by trying to block unspent federal dollars for climate action and by rolling back rules to cut carbon emissions. Both tactics would risk putting the U.S. behind on climate goals at a critical time for the planet and would hurt the emerging climate technology and clean energy sectors, experts said.

In 2022, the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest spending package in US history focused on reducing climate change. It authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in federal loans, grants and tax breaks to turbocharge the clean energy industry.

The uncertainty brought by a Trump administration could be “suffocating” for the emerging clean energy and cleantech industries, which face strong competition from rivals in China and Europe, said Daniel Burge, energy solutions research analyst at ABI Research.

“It’s a young sector that needs stability,” Burge said. “Other countries have had a lot more momentum behind their sectors.”

About three-quarters of the $105 billion in national climate grant programs included in the IRA will already be spent or committed before the end of Biden’s term, experts at Columbia University Law School estimated. However, at least $14 billion remains unallocated.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to “finish” IRA and write off unspent funds of climate law, calling it “the biggest scam in history”. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Trump has not presented a plan to cut emissions, promising instead to increase oil, gas and coal production. He also said during a presidential debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris that wind and solar energy development is taking up too much land.

Conservative groups criticized the legislation as ineffective for its stated purpose – reducing inflation. Heritage Foundation Project Report 2025the controversial conservative plan for a second Trump term, called for defunding the IRA, as Trump promised during the campaign, and repealing its tax subsidies.

“The next administration should … push for legislation to completely repeal the recently enacted subsidies in the tax code, including dozens of credits and tax breaks for green energy companies,” the Project 2025 report said.

Massachusetts has received more than $1 billion in grants and tax credits from IRAs, according to state officials.

“These are transformative pieces of legislation that really benefit our state,” Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday, referring to the IRA and other federal infrastructure spending packages passed under Biden that will benefit the clean energy transition. “We want to work to make sure that continues.”

At least 500 clean energy jobs for electricians, mechanics, construction workers, technicians and others have been created in Massachusetts as a result of the law, according to a analysis by Climate Powera climate advocacy group.

The IRA put the US on a much faster path to reducing emissions – double or even triple the pace it had been before – and injected a big burst of enthusiasm for the economic benefits of energy transition.

Climate scientists say it is beyond crisis time for the US to reconfigure buildings, homes, businesses and transportation infrastructure to prevent more greenhouse gas emissions. This transition must take shape in this decade, climate scientists warnor the planet risks much worse and irreparable changes.

Massachusetts startups thrived during the Biden administration Climate tech solutions have raised more than $12 billion in venture capital, compared with $2 billion during Trump’s first term, according to data from Pitchbook.

In Massachusetts, IRAs also offer savings to consumers through tax credits for electric vehicles and retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient.

Even so, the U.S. has missed goals to cut emissions in half by 2030 and reach “net zero” emissions — with no new emissions added — by 2050, said Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor of engineering at Princeton University.

“Instead of a president committed to further accelerating this progress, we are left to wait and see how well recent gains against repeal can be defended,” Jenkins said.

Regardless of what happens in Washington, Healey has vowed to stay the course on Massachusetts’ climate goals, which he has made a centerpiece of his administration.

“We’re full steam ahead and we’re not taking our foot off the pedal,” Healey said.

Sublime Systems, a Somerville business that makes cement with electricity instead of fossil fuelsreceived $87 million from the Inflation Relief Act for a demonstration plant in Holyoke, and work on the site is now underway. Leah Ellis, the company’s chief executive and co-founder, said the grant was “a very big deal” as the startup tries to convince the slow-moving construction industry to switch to its greener product.

But looking at the political horizon, “there’s a lot of uncertainty, doubt and fear,” Ellis said.

The Trump administration could try to repeal tax breaks for electric vehicles, for example, or try to block climate spending that hasn’t already gone out the door. Massachusetts also has yet to award any of the roughly $60 million to build electric vehicle charging stations that the state received from the 2021 infrastructure law, another big spending bill passed by Biden .

Spencer Pederson, senior vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Electric Manufacturers, said he is concerned that all IRA provisions are potentially “at the limit.” The trade group will argue to Congress that closing the pipeline of clean energy grants, loans and tax breaks will only hurt American manufacturing.

“These provisions have brought domestic manufacturing back to the United States,” Pederson said said. “They created jobs and helped strengthen the domestic energy economy.”

Some are optimistic that the IRA’s benefits will prove too good for Republicans to give up.

“A lot of that money is going to Republican areas that are seeing tremendous economic benefits,” said Paul Bledsoe, a lecturer in American University’s Department of Administration and Public Policy who served as communications director for the House climate change task force. White under President Bill. Clinton. “I’m just skeptical of (Trump’s) ability or willingness to accomplish the end of the IRA.”

Policy experts have also said that stopping spending already authorized by Congress will likely be logistically difficult.

“But that doesn’t mean they won’t try,” said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

Trump has said he wants to restore an earlier presidential power to block spending, known as sequestration, even though that power was revoked by Congress in 1974. At the time, President Richard Nixon had refused to release funds appropriated by Congress for the programs government which he opposed.

The Trump administration may try to revive it, said Robert Bradner, a federal attorney and partner at Holland & Knight. However, most lawyers believe the president is obligated to distribute the money, said Bradner, who previously spent more than a decade in government.

However, even one attempt could be enough to scare off business and block progress, experts said.

“Perhaps the greatest ability a Trump administration will have to unveil (climate action) is really just to slow things down,” Burger said. “The administration might just try to shut things down.”

Erin Douglas can be reached at [email protected]. Follow a @erinmdouglas23. Aaron Pressman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow L @ampressman.