By Megan Fahrney,
Nov. 30,2025
Ali Zaidi, former White House national climate adviser to President Joe Biden, brought climate solutions to Northwestern University Sept. 30 to center the climate crisis on positive action in the face of mounting costs, increasing energy demand from artificial intelligence and geopolitical competition.
His lecture, “Reimagining Climate Policy at the Intersection of Technology, Law and Economics,” stressed solutions that promote job creation, spur economic growth and enhance the capacity of the electric grid.
“The impacts are here, the costs are mounting, but the solutions are so powerful and they are within reach, and we can get after them if we do it together,” Zaidi said.
The lecture and Q&A moderated by Andrew V. Papachristos, director of Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research, discussed the positive trajectory of increased clean energy investments across the United States. It also covered the global shift away from fossil fuels and toward cheaper, more efficient forms of clean energy.
As White House climate adviser from 2022-2025, Zaidi played a pivotal role in creating and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which were considered key pillars of Biden’s legacy. The IRA, projected to reduce emissions up to 40% by 2030, is the largest-ever American investment in combating climate change.
Zaidi struck a bipartisan tone in his lecture remarks. He avoided condemning President Donald Trump’s rollback of national climate legislation, and even referenced a loan the Trump administration advanced that supported sustainable aviation fuels in Montana.
During the Q&A session, students asked about job-search advice and the current state of politics surrounding climate change.
“Climate is not, should not, be either partisan or an advocacy calling,” Zaidi said. “Climate is an environmental problem. It has very clear drivers.”
Katherine Almquist, a second-year doctoral student in Northwestern’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science, said she appreciated Zaidi’s optimism.
“I think that kind of mindset and tone is needed,” Almquist said.
“We’re not going to prevail on a challenge of this scope and scale that will take time being slouchy, sad, despondent,” Zaidi said. “The only way you get to the other side is by being positive.”
Born in Pakistan, Zaidi grew up outside Erie, Pennsylvania, and attended Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center. Zaidi served as New York state’s deputy secretary for energy and environment and chairman of climate policy and finance. He was an adjunct professor of technology policy at Stanford University, where he also researched climate financial implications.
In the Obama administration, Zaidi served as the associate director for natural resources, energy and science in the Office of Management and Budget, and as the deputy director of energy policy for the Domestic Policy Council. Since concluding his post in the Biden administration, Zaidi has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and traveled to give lectures on college campuses.
Photo at top: As White House climate adviser from 2022-2025, Zaidi played a pivotal role in creating and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which were considered key pillars of President Joe Biden’s legacy. The IRA, projected to reduce emissions up to 40% by 2030, is the largest-ever American investment in combating climate change impacts such as extreme weather and flooding. (NOAA)