Energy Dept. tells employees not to use words including ‘climate change’ and ‘green’

The Department of Energy has told employees to avoid using certain words including “climate change,” “green,” and “sustainable,” according to an internal email sent to staff and obtained by NPR.

The details of the email were first reported by Politico. It was sent to employees of the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which is the largest federal funder of clean energy technology. The office supports research about how to build homes and cars more efficiently, and helps fund research about renewable energy, including solar and wind power, hydrogen fuel cell technology and geothermal energy. It had a budget of $3.46 billion in fiscal year 2023.

The Energy Department denies that its employees were told to avoid using specific terms. “There is no directive at the Energy Department instructing employees to avoid using phrases such as ‘climate change’ or ’emissions.’ President Trump and Secretary Wright remain committed to transparency and fostering an open, honest dialogue about climate science,” Department of Energy press secretary Ben Dietderich wrote in response to questions from NPR.

The email obtained by NPR instructs employees working on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to avoid using about a dozen words and phrases, many of which are central to their work.

The banned phrases include:

• “climate change,” which is primarily caused by humans burning oil, gas and coal
• “decarbonization,” a common term in energy policy and research that refers to reductions in carbon dioxide pollution
• “clean energy,” which is often used to refer to solar, wind and other sources of electricity that do not rely on fossil fuels
• “energy transition,” which generally refers to the economy-wide shift away from oil, gas and coal that is already taking place as governments and corporations try to reduce planet-warming pollution

The email warns employees to avoid using the words in all parts of their work. The prohibition extends to the Energy Department website, internal reports and public documents, including those that describe federal funding opportunities.

The move is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to restrict access to information about climate change, and undercut federal efforts to address its causes. The administration has canceled billions of dollars in research funding and shuttered federal websites that made public critical data about sea level rise, extreme weather and other effects of climate change. Scientists who advise the government about clean air and clean water regulations have also been let go, as have scientists who were synthesizing the latest research about how climate change affects the United States.

This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has specifically tried to limit which words the Energy Department uses. Immediately after Trump took office in January, many instances of the term “climate change” were removed from the agency’s website, according to one current and one former employee who helped carry out that directive. Both asked that their names not be made public because they fear political and legal retribution from the current administration.

The new directive goes further, expanding the list of banned phrases and excluding those terms from all work products.