A
If President-elect Joe Biden wants to make progress on his decarbonization agenda, then the US vehicle fleet is ground zero. Cheap shale-gas, ever-cheaper renewable energy, and flat electricity demand have already forced the closure of many coal-fired power plants. Transportation overtook the electricity sector as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in 2017.
Hence, Biden’s appointment of Jennifer Granholm to be the next Secretary of Energy ticks a number of boxes. She is a former governor of Michigan, both a crucial swing state for Biden and, of course, home to Detroit. She sits on the board of Proterra Inc., a cutting-edge electric-bus manufacturer based in California, and has long advocated for green-hued industrial policy. It helps that she will be only the second woman ever to head the Department of Energy, and is an immigrant to boot.