| By Michelle Ma and Akshat Rathi Billionaire technology investor Vinod Khosla has warned that Trump administration policies on immigration threaten climate sector jobs, adding to impacts from the rollback of support for decarbonization and clean energy. "I think the biggest damage is the slowdown in the import of talent," Khosla said Tuesday at the Bloomberg Green Seattle conference, during a live recording of the Zero podcast. "That reduces our ability to have the kinds of breakthroughs," which would allow the US to address climate change and grow the economy. Under President Donald Trump, the US has undertaken sweeping immigration crackdowns that have also targeted people on visas for highly skilled workers. That's resulted in a significant brain drain in fields crucial to the climate technology sector and the energy transition, according to the founder of Khosla Ventures, which invests in startups, including those focused on cutting emissions.  Vinod Khosla at Bloomberg Green Seattle. Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg Europe, the Middle East and India are among potential beneficiaries from an outflow of international tech workers from the US, he said. Canada, France and Germany are among nations already offering incentives, including relocation packages, to US-born researchers, as they contend with widespread cuts to climate grants. The Trump administration is pushing back against such warnings. "There is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force," said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. "President Trump's mass deportation campaign means higher wages and more opportunity for American workers." Khosla's comments came as a series of speakers at the Seattle forum focused on how to navigate Trump era policies. Ford is continuing to focus on making electric cars cheaper in the US, even after the administration moved to scrap purchase incentives of up to $7,500. "If we're really going to get into that … more significant majority – rather than the early majority – affordability is going to play into that," Bob Holycross, the automaker's chief sustainability, environment and safety officer, told the conference. High prices remain one of the largest obstacles to electric vehicle adoption, and analysts drastically reduced EV sales estimates after Congress' decision to junk federal incentives and a suite of other policy supports. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials who were laid off and subsequently reinstated have "no clue" why, Paul Schramm, chief of the agency's climate and health program, told the summit in a separate session. "There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it," he said. Schramm and climate and health program workers were among roughly 400 CDC employees who, after being fired in April, were subsequently brought back about a month ago. The reinstatements also included workers at the agency's asthma and lead poisoning prevention programs, Schramm said. But funding only remains in place through October, and getting back to work has been a bumpy transition, he said. Meanwhile, Representative Yassamin Ansari urged fellow Democrats to focus on populist messages on climate change — including the potential for cleaner energy to lower electricity bills — as they seek to win back control of Congress in next year's midterm election.  Representative Yassamin Ansari appears at Bloomberg Green Seattle. Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg "This climate populism message is one that we really need to lean into," the Arizona Democrat told the conference. "When it comes to the cost of living, there is a clear connection between your utility prices and your energy costs and, in Arizona, your AC bills being higher than ever." Republicans "are entirely focusing our energy portfolio on oil and gas," explained Ansari, warning that getting rid of renewables "is a mistake when you're talking about energy costs." Read the full Khosla interview on Bloomberg.com. | 
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