{"id":457056,"date":"2026-07-22T04:22:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=457056"},"modified":"2026-07-22T04:22:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:22:41","slug":"honda-is-paying-the-price-for-falling-for-biden-era-climate-policies-lets-spare-others-the-same-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=457056","title":{"rendered":"Honda Is Paying the Price for Falling for Biden-Era Climate Policies. Let\u2019s Spare Others the Same Fate."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published at The Empowerment Alliance<\/a> and is re-published here with permission. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of codifying into law the guarantee of affordable, reliable energy for all Americans is driven home by the current turmoil surrounding Honda, which \u201creported its first annual loss since becoming a publicly traded company in Japan seven decades ago,\u201d as reported by the New York Times back in May.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did a company considered one of the most stable in the world suddenly suffer such a catastrophic about-face? In large part because it relied on Biden administration policies designed to funnel industries into a future where fossil fuels would be completely phased out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honda decided to gamble its prospects on the Biden era fantasy, but when Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the new administration quickly changed course, canceling policies that were based on climate change hysteria and resetting the economic course of the U.S. and, by natural progression, much of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As described in a follow-up Times story<\/a> last month, just five years ago, Toshihiro Mibe, Honda\u2019s chief executive, \u201cpledged that by 2040, the Japanese automaker \u2014 long celebrated for its mastery of internal-combustion engines \u2014 would spend tens of billions of dollars to phase them out in favor of electric vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But consumer demand for EVs began to wane \u2013 not because of free market factors, but because consumers had been manipulated by government policies that either limited their choices or penalized them for going against the government grain. Putting all its eggs into the EV basket, Honda was caught flat-footed when government policies changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonda\u2019s troubles reflect a broader reckoning across the automotive industry,\u201d according to the Times. \u201cIn some ways, the company has become a poster child for legacy carmakers, from Volkswagen to Ford Motor, that wagered billions on a rapid shift to an electric future, only to be caught flat-footed when consumer demand cooled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, let\u2019s say this slowly so everyone can follow: Consumer demand didn\u2019t cool because fickle buyers couldn\u2019t make up their minds between internal combustion engines and EVs. Deep into its story, the Times finally acknowledges the real reason for the briefly growing popularity of EVs in the first place: \u201cThe Biden administration added momentum by offering billions in subsidies and consumer tax credits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There we go. More than anything, the promise of billions in government subsidies convinced many consumers, automakers and other industries to go full-steam-ahead into a future where fossil fuels would be a distant memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then what happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the United States, Honda\u2019s largest automobile market, the Trump administration\u2019s elimination of federal tax credits for electric vehicles has sapped demand, contributing to the automaker\u2019s first annual net loss in its seven-decade history as a public company. It has since abandoned its goal of going all-electric by 2040,\u201d according to the Times, finally nailing the determining factor of Honda\u2019s fall \u2013 government policies that can fluctuate wildly from one administration to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offering a real chance to bring certainty and confidence to the energy market \u2013 and avoid the kinds of wild industry swings that happened to Honda and others \u2013 is the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act (ARC-ES) introduced last year<\/a> by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio). ARC-ES would guarantee that our most effective, affordable and reliable energy sources, such as natural gas, would always remain an important part of the U.S. energy mix \u2013 a certainty that would provide a steadying ballast for corporate decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite seeing its influence wane at the federal level, the radical left climate movement has hardly given up. As noted here before,<\/a> after reading the tea leaves from the Trump administration, the left has taken its battle to the states. Fortunately, the believers in affordable and traditional energy are also working at the state level, with Louisiana becoming the first state to codify ARC-ES into law, and other states considering similar legislation. As Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry<\/a> said, state policy will be \u201cto ensure our electricity is affordable, reliable, and clean energy security for our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While battles are being waged at both the state and federal levels, what needs to be remembered is that the government policy has real and lasting consequences. And as the Democratic Party is rapidly being coopted by socialists in primary after primary, average Americans have more reason than ever to fear that government will \u2013 someday soon \u2013 mandate which energy resources are
acceptable, and which are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we see with the case of Honda, private companies that plan their futures based on subsidies and mandates can face disaster when those policies \u2013 whether for or against \u2013 are suddenly reversed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to bring stability to the political landscape \u2013 stability that can only be effective when all energy resources are allowed to be part of the mix, rising or falling on merit, not politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While embedding the principles of ARC-ES into agency rulemaking would be a good start, codifying them into law at both the state and federal levels while Congress, the White House and most states<\/a> are under Republican control would make energy security much more reliable for industry planners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While American industry deserves assurances that their long-term planning can confidently include affordable, reliable energy sources without those choices being mandated away by the next set of climate fanatics who might find themselves in office, consumers are at more risk than anyone of having their lives upended by the whims of radical left government policy. Let\u2019s remove that risk and codify the guarantee of energy security for every American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing <\/em>columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing opinion columnist for The Empowerment Alliance<\/a>, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honda has indeed taken major financial hits from its aggressive EV pivot, which aligned with Biden-era policies pushing rapid electrification. <\/p>\n

This serves as a cautionary tale about betting corporate strategy heavily on volatile government mandates and subsidies rather than consumer demand and market realities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":457060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Honda's CEO had previously committed to phasing out gasoline-only vehicles by 2040 and investing tens of billions in EVs, citing U.S. policy shifts toward aggressive EV adoption. \n\n","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691844191,691840859,691832279,691844192,691835262,691818299,691818818,691831504],"class_list":["post-457056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-biden-administration-policies","tag-evs-electric-cars","tag-honda","tag-internal-combustion-engines-2","tag-reliable-and-clean-energy-security-act-arc-es","tag-subsidies","tag-tax-credits","tag-trump-administration","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1UTS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":409421,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409421","url_meta":{"origin":457056,"position":0},"title":"Automakers 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