DOE Reportedly Bans Employees Using of Certain Words

On September 26, 2025, employees of the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) received an email from an acting external-affairs official transmitting the office's latest "list of words to avoid" in internal and public-facing work. The email, obtained by Politico's E&E News and NPR, added "climate change," "green," and "decarbonization" to a running list that included "emissions," "energy transition," "sustainable," "clean energy" and "dirty energy," "carbon footprint," "tax breaks," "tax credits," and "subsidies" — terms potentially central to EERE's mission as the government's largest funder of energy-efficiency and renewable technologies. The email directed staff to avoid terminology "misaligned with the Administration's perspectives and priorities." A DOE spokesperson denied that employees had been instructed to avoid any terms; no policy document has been made public.