Environmentalists said the ruling is especially poignant because Trump, a real estate developer and former reality television star, has called climate change a hoax. And he has urged the Senate to vote to reject an global climate accord signed a year ago in Paris. All of these steps are now under threat.
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“We will have a lot more hurdles”, said Ian Fry, head of the delegation of Tuvalu, a Pacific island state which fears rising sea levels, adding Trump’s victory could have a “domino effect on other nations”.
Trump tweeted in 2012 that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”. The world may be having a similar sensation as it tries to make sense of a Trump presidency and anticipate what happens next.
Last month, in a Miami rally with Hillary Clinton, Gore implored voters to consider the candidates’ vastly different approaches to climate change, which he called a top national and global priority.
Trump has selected known climate change skeptic Myron Ebell to lead his EPA transition team.
“Outside the US, Trump’s election may have profound effects on worldwide oil and gas investment opportunities”. They have an ally in the environmental movement.
The most dramatic change, Dismukes said, would come in regulations. The company now has several exploration teams focused on uncovering new energy resources in the US and would likely be interested in exploring some of the areas Trump opens up.
Ray Beiersdorfer said he believes that Trump’s plan will be disastrous to the environment. Bloomberg has already debunked this figure as wholly unachievable.
Gerrard said states can also regulate emissions from power plants within their borders, spur the development of new technology, create energy efficiency standards and find other ways of cutting carbon. The cost of thermal coal in the Australian port of Newcastle, a benchmark for Asia, has more than doubled since January to a four-year high of $114.75 a ton.
Even as shale expanded, the energy industry bemoaned environmental regulations that slowed development.
During the campaign, Trump often pledged to put coal miners back to work and help reopen mines that have closed while Obama has been in office. In the election campaign, Trump said he would approve the pipeline if elected.
Coal’s share of the USA electricity mix has plunged to less than a third today from about half in 2008, the result of cheap natural gas and stepped-up efforts to curb carbon emissions.
Energy experts and market strategists caution that Trump’s energy plans still aren’t crystal clear. Prices, Dismukes said, are determined by the global market; the price “trajectory won’t change” on that because of the election. “It’s because natural gas is mostly methane”.
So when Trump takes down the regulations on oil and gas, and prices finally start climbing again, solar and wind will continue to grow at a strong pace.
For all the “war on coal” rhetoric, USA coal’s biggest problem was never Obama, nor would it have been Hillary Clinton.
Following Trump’s stunning election upset, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club issued a statement pointing out the business mogul’s uniqueness on the world stage when it comes to environmentalism. America will unleash an energy revolution that will transform us into a net energy exporter, leading to the creation of millions of new jobs, while protecting the country’s most valuable resources – our clean air, clean water, and natural habitats. Leo has used his movie star status to push a green energy agenda that would be an economic nightmare for working-class Americans.
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It is a rare moment of clarity for the president when it comes to energy production. He can’t change the fact that clean energy sources are outcompeting dirty fuels like coal, gas, and nuclear power all over the country. While tearing apart the accord is “technically possible”, it is “extremely unlikely” that the other world powers that negotiated with Iran alongside the U.S. – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany – “would follow our lead”, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in April. But with Trump as the new leader of the free world, optimism is fading fast.
