Global green agenda will not be reversed under Trump era, new report states

Climate policies will continue chipping away at fossil fuels’ role as the mainstay of global energy use, despite Donald Trump's appointment as US president in 2017, according to a new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

The report expects that while the election of Trump as US president is not likely to halt the gradual transition towards cleaner energy globally, it will nevertheless slow it.

"It will be difficult for a Trump administration to disentangle the US from the Paris Agreement now that it has already come into force, but indifference to addressing climate change at the top policy level of the world’s second-largest emitter will still be a setback," according to Peter Kiernan, Lead Energy Analyst The Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to the report, President-elect Trump’s administration will have global implications for energy. The study stated that US-China co-operation, an important pillar of the climate policy agenda, will be affected.

Global green agenda not reversed

Domestically, Trump is likely to abandon his predecessor’s emissions-cutting agenda, casting a pall of uncertainty over the future course of US energy policy. Implementation of the US’s Clean Power Plan currently stalled because of litigation, is now in severe doubt, according to the report.

However, the report stated that the global trend towards a green world will not be reversed.

The energy transition at a global level will roll on incrementally, with the EIU forecasting faster growth in renewable energy consumption compared to fossil fuels in 2017. Consumption of renewables, nuclear power and natural gas will continue to outpace that of coal and oil next year.

In 2017, researchers at the Economist Intelligence Unit expect some of the largest emitters—the EU, India and China, all Paris signatories—to follow through on policies designed to cut emissions, or at least to lower the carbon intensity of their economies.

The report also indicates that oil prices will average higher in 2017, with Brent averaging US$56.50/bbl.

 "The capacity of US shale drillers to reverse recent output falls will test OPEC’s ability to push prices higher," added Kiernan.