On September 26, 2025, staff at the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) received an email with a list of words to avoid in both internal and public communications. The list includes terms such as “climate change,” “emissions,” “decarbonization,” and “sustainability/sustainable,” which are central to EERE’s mission of finding cost-effective and accessible renewable energy solutions.
In the email, DOE acting director of external affairs Rachel Overbey advised EERE staff to “be conscientious about avoiding any terminology that you know to be misaligned with the Administration’s perspectives and priorities.” A DOE spokesperson later told Politico that the agency had not banned the words and that they would “look into the validity of the email.”