The climate lobbying world just got a shake-up. After Bill Gates disbanded Breakthrough Energy's policy team in March, citing political headwinds, key staffers have regrouped under a new banner: the Clean Economy Project. Led by former Breakthrough VP Aliya Haq, the 10-person team is betting they can still move the needle on clean energy policy, even in today's challenging political climate.
The climate policy landscape just shifted as former Breakthrough Energy veterans launch their own lobbying operation. The timing isn't coincidental - after Bill Gates pulled the plug on his policy team in March, anticipating limited success with the incoming Trump administration, his former staffers are betting they can chart a different course.
The Clean Economy Project, informally called CleanEcon, represents a strategic pivot from the Gates approach. Where Breakthrough Energy focused on broad federal policy wins, this new nonprofit is taking a more targeted approach: "building energy projects faster; accelerating innovation to lower costs; and derisking private investment into clean industries," according to their launch announcement.
Aliya Haq, who spent nearly six years as vice president of U.S. policy and advocacy at Breakthrough Energy, now leads the organization as president. Her departure from Gates's operation wasn't just a career move - it signals a fundamental disagreement about how to navigate the current political moment. While Gates retreated from federal lobbying, Haq's team is doubling down on the belief that economic fundamentals will drive clean energy adoption regardless of political winds.
The funding structure tells its own story. More than 10 backers - a mix of philanthropists and venture capitalists who remain undisclosed - are betting that this approach can succeed where Breakthrough's federal strategy couldn't. This isn't charity money; it's strategic investment from players who see policy change as essential to their clean energy portfolios.
The dissolution of Breakthrough's policy team sent shockwaves through the climate advocacy world earlier this year. According to The New York Times, Gates made the decision after concluding his lobbying group wouldn't make headway with the Trump administration. Dozens of staffers were cut in what many saw as a retreat from the policy battlefield.
But Haq and her colleagues apparently saw an opportunity where Gates saw obstacles. Their bet is that clean energy economics are strong enough to attract bipartisan support, even in a hostile federal environment. It's a theory that's being tested across the industry as clean energy costs continue falling and grid reliability becomes a bipartisan concern.
