Bob Keefe - Climatenomics: Washington, Wall Street and the Economic Battle to Save Our Planet

Bob Keefe is executive director of E2, a national, nonpartisan group of business owners, investors, and professionals who leverage economic research and their business perspective to advance policies that are good for the environment and good for the economy. E2s national network includes more than eleven thousand business leaders spread across nine chapters, stretching from New York to Los Angeles, and a staff of advocates who work on climate and clean-energy policies at the federal and state levels. An affiliate of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), E2 is the foremost business voice on issues at the intersection of the environment and economy and the leading authority on clean-energy jobs in America.

Previously, Keefe spent nearly twenty-five years as a journalist. He covered business news news for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times; was technology editor for the Austin (Tx) American-Statesman and covered national technology news and the West for the Cox Newspapers chain. In 2008, he moved to Washington, D.C. to cover Congress and the White House for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, before joining E2 in 2011. He resides in San Diego, California with his wife and daughters.

I am blessed beyond measure.

For most of my life, Ive somehow managed to make a living meeting interesting people, learning interesting things, telling interesting stories, and hopefully doing a little public good. As an old journalism colleague of mine used to say, who wouldnt want a job like that?

We can never properly thank all the people who help us along our way. But for this particular project, I can thank a few, and I can humbly apologize to others I may have accidently forgotten.

I begin with the incredible staff of E2, the organization Ive been fortunate to be a part of for more than a decade and lucky enough to lead since 2015. I continue to be amazed at how big of an impact our small but mighty team makes in Washington and in statehouses across the country. Thanks to Crew E2s hard work, we have made business and the economy an integral part of just about any discussion about climate and environmental policy. Weve changed the national narrative around clean-energy jobs. Weve connected countless businesspeople and lawmakers, advanced critical laws and legislation, and together have done and continue to do good for our economy and our environment. Even better, we usually find a way to have fun doing it. Special thanks to Sandra Purohit for helping keep me straight on policy, Michael Timberlake for his help with charts and graphs and numbers, and Gail Parson for her partnership and her steady hand steering the ship whenever I needed to step away from the tiller for this endeavor.

Thanks also to Jeff Benzak, for his help with editing and for being alongside me more than a decade ago when we decided that clean jobs count, and that when our nations leaders think about climate and clean energy, they should think about jobs. Thanks too to Phil Jordan and his team at BW Research Partnership. A trusted partner and friend, Phil has a heart of gold and knows more about the growth of the clean-energy workforce in America than anyone.

Nothing good can be said about E2 without mentioning Nicole Lederer, its chair and co-founder. I am forever grateful to Nicole for so much: For always supporting me and my ideasincluding the idea for this book; for her vision, passion, and tenacity and for her guidance and friendship. Without Nicole and Larry Orr, there would be no E2 today, and without E2, I never would have been in the position to do what I do, including writing this book. Thank you both. Likewise, E2 could do nothing without the support of its members and donors. Im thankful for each and every one of you, especially those mentioned in the pages that follow for providing your thoughts, insight, and time. If youre a businessperson who cares about the environment and you dont belong to E2, you really should.

At NRDC, I owe thanks to Rob Perks for his support and Ed Yoon for his leadership; to Ed Chen, always, for giving me the opportunity to begin with to keep telling good stories at the intersection of economy and environment, and to Jenny Powers, Lisa Goffredi and others for their camaraderie and support from the very beginning. Special thanks to NRDC President and CEO Manish Bapna, who understands the connection between economy and environment better than most, for his help, support, and leadership. Thanks too to NRDCs previous president, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, who has given all of us a stronger voice in the fight against climate change and hope for the future. Tom Steyer was gracious to write the forward for this book, for which Im very grateful. Im even more grateful for his vision and passion as a business leader who truly understands both the economic and environmental importance of protecting our planet.

I am forever grateful and indebted to my longtime colleague and friend Bob Deans. A master communicator, gifted writer, and Southern gentleman to his James Riversoaked core, I could thank Deans for a million things, but I know hed wisely counsel me to limit it to just three because neither of us would likely remember any more than that, at least not at our age. Thank you, Deans, for showing me the path from journalism to environmentalism; for connecting me with Jon Sisk and the talented team at Rowman & Littlefield; and for your support, guidance, and friendship over all these years. Thats sort of three.

To Tammie, thanks for always believing in me and for supporting my lifelong bad habit of spending countless hours stringing words together in my unsatiable desire to try and tell a good story. I love you always.

Lastly, we should all be grateful to those in government, business, advocacy, and the media who are on the front lines of the fight against climate change, and to all who work every day to make our world a little bit better.

Carlsbad, California

December 2021

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