A renewable energy think tank working to “accelerate the clean energy transition” is reportedly cutting 10% of its staff just weeks after the Trump administration pulled two Biden-era grants worth millions of dollars.
Formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute, RMI — a nonprofit which previously accepted funds from an organization with deep ties to the Chinese government — reportedly wrote in an internal email on Tuesday that the staff cuts were necessary due to “increased uncertainty around revenue sources,” according to Politico’s E&E News. The staff reduction comes just weeks after the Trump administration canceled two grants worth over $6 million to the think tank awarded under former President Joe Biden.
“While immensely difficult, these changes position us to meet today’s challenges with greater clarity, resilience, and focus. This is not about scaling back our ambition — it’s about ensuring we can deliver our mission in a sustainable, disciplined way, even amid volatility,” RMI’s CEO Jon Creyts told E&E News.
Though the nonprofit told the publication that the frozen grants did not force the layoffs, it acknowledged that growth in recent years was “driven by urgent global need and strong funding support,” though the “external landscape has shifted quickly.” RMI did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The Trump administration recently terminated two of RMI’s grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), the think tank confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon.
RMI, which conducts research on renewable energy and decarbonization, is the latest in a string of environmental nonprofits to announce staff cuts. Ocean Conservancy and the Sierra Club both announced layoffs in the past week, according to Politico’s E&E News.
Notably, the nonprofit was behind a study cited by former Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.’s decision to consider a ban on gas stoves, which attracted significant criticism from the political right at the time. The Chinese-linked organization Energy Foundation China (EFC), which handed out roughly $1.8 million to RMI between 2020 and 2022, was also involved in producing the report.
At least nine members of the EFC’s leadership and senior staff previously held positions in China’s government, with one described in a Tsinghua University press release as an “outstanding [Chinese] Communist Party member,” the DCNF reported in January. RMI also operates an office in China. EFC did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
RMI reportedly said that it wouldn’t eliminate any programs, and that Friday will be the final day for the terminated employees.
These layoffs come as the Trump administration works to either terminate or claw back billions of dollars in grant awards given to organizations and left-leaning climate groups by the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency states it has already formally notified nearly 400 “environmental justice” grant recipients that their awards are set for cancellation.
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