Former U.S. energy secretary Ernest Moniz mostly held his tongue during the early months of the Trump administration. But he reemerged on the public stage following the announced plan to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate accords, denouncing that decision and other proposed policies that would largely unwind President Barack Obama’s energy and climate legacy. In the interview with MIT Technology Review that follows, the MIT professor emeritus and new CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative says the White House’s statements and actions “have called into question our leadership, and frankly our reliability.” On the other hand, he adds there are strong economic, political, and technological counterforces at work as well.