Navin Singh Khadka is an Environment Correspondent for the BBC World Service. According to Getty Images, Trump has announced that the US’s oil and gas will be sold globally. The UN climate summit in the United Arab Emirates in 2023 called for a transition away from fossil fuels, marking a significant moment in global climate action. However, concerns have arisen about a potential slowdown in the growth of clean energy transition and an increase in the burning of fossil fuels.
President Trump’s focus on fossil fuels and rejection of clean energy policies has started to influence other countries and energy companies. Indonesia, for example, is considering following the US in withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. This has sparked discussions about the fairness of expecting developing countries to reduce emissions while major emitters like the US continue to produce and burn fossil fuels.
In response to these developments, countries like Argentina are signaling their intent to increase oil and gas production and potentially withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Energy companies like Equinor and BP are also shifting their investments away from renewable energy towards oil and gas production.
Despite global clean energy investment exceeding $2tn for the first time, its growth has slowed recently. Trump’s plans to export American energy worldwide have sparked interest from countries like India, South Korea, and Japan in increasing their imports of American oil and gas. This trend raises concerns about the impact on the global energy transition and efforts to limit warming to 1.5 Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Navin Singh Khadka En contraste, economías dependientes de la importación como China, India y los países del sudeste asiático tienen un incentivo económico dramático para descarbonizar las fuentes de energía.
La inversión en la transición energética mundial ha superado los $2tn por primera vez el año pasado, pero también se ha demostrado que el crecimiento de la transición hacia energías limpias se ha ralentizado notablemente en los últimos años, mientras que muchos bancos importantes continúan financiando combustibles fósiles.