President Trump has a lot on his plate these days. Between driving up the cost of living with his tariffs, deporting immigrants without due process, alienating our allies and trading partners, defunding public television, and on and on, it’s reasonable to think he’s too busy to notice everything that’s going on behind his back.

For example, we wonder if he’s noticed that the fossil fuel industry he is working so hard to help is stabbing him in the back.

None other than the Wall Street Journal, has reported that while Trump publicly brags about a deal with India to buy more American fossil fuels, Chevron, BP, Exxon and other oil majors are quietly offshoring high-paying U.S. fossil jobs to India, reducing U.S. employment through automation, and reducing investment in the U.S. while increasing investment in India, where similarly skilled employees will work for a fraction of the cost of U.S. employees.

As Julius Caesar supposedly said upon seeing his friend Brutus among the conspirators who assassinated him, “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”)

Mr. Trump doesn’t strike us as the sort of person who likes being crossed. But perhaps no one in his inner circle has bothered to share this inconvenient truth with him. Maybe we can help?

For its part, the fossil fuel industry has been stunned by Trump’s tariffs, which have sent oil prices tumbling while driving up its costs.

After Mr. Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, oil prices tumbled 12% to nearly $63 a barrel, a level that, according to the Journal, “is expected to prompt some soul-searching in the industry. If prices remain near those levels for long, crackers will have to re-evaluate their spending levels.”

This comes against a backdrop of gradually falling employment in the fossil fuel industry, where jobs have dropped almost 15% since mid-2019 to around 122,000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), and this was happening “without drilling bans or comprehensive federal climate regulation.” (E&E News)

Meanwhile, we suspect Mr. Trump has not noticed that solar and wind are among the fastest-growing job categories, “growing much faster than the 3.7-percent growth that is projected for all occupations” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

It’s too early to say how these developments will ultimately impact energy development in the U.S. and abroad, but there are a few things we do know:

• Mr. Trump should know how little regard the fossil fuel industry has for his agenda: offshoring its best jobs even as the President has sworn to ramp up domestic oil and gas production and increase employment.
  
• India, the primary beneficiary of fossil fuel investment, is simultaneously undergoing a clean energy revolution. Solar remains the cheapest source of electricity around the world, and its growth continues to exceed expectations, including in India.
  
• Finally, many of the skills required for specialized oil and gas jobs are transferable to the clean energy sector, which means this could be a powerful opportunity to advocate for the development of stronger transitionary pathways between fossil fuel and clean energy jobs.

Let’s ensure as many people as possible are aware of these contradictions and developments and use our platform to advocate for the continued growth of our clean energy workforce!