21 January, 2025

Trump withdrawal from Paris will boost US competitors in clean energy and technology

The Paris Agreement will remain the engine of global climate action long after Trump’s final term in office, yet his withdrawal today from the accord will leave a long lasting negative mark on the competitiveness of American business.

The Paris Agreement will remain the engine of global climate action long after Trump’s final term in office, yet his withdrawal today from the accord will leave a long lasting negative mark on the competitiveness of American business.

If the US retreats in the race to renewables, electric vehicles and other clean technologies, its competitors in China, Europe and the rest of the world can only make gains. A recent study finds a Trump rollback could cost US companies $50 billion in lost exports, while yielding up to $80 billion in new supply chain opportunities for markets outside the USA.

In 2016, Trump promised to revive the country’s declining coal industry.

He failed because the demand simply wasn’t there. This time, President Trump promises to boost US fossil gas production, but again he can’t control international markets. With renewables cheaper than ever, new US gas may not take off in the way he expects.

Not only is Trump’s latest move a blow to American clean tech business, it is another sign of the erosion of US soft power. The US walking away from the global challenge of our time signals weak leadership. It’s now up to the 190+ parties to the Paris Agreement to pull together and step up climate action.

A known climate denialist in the White House who attacks science does not have the capacity to meet this modern threat. While the US federal government sits out global climate action on the benches with other non-signatories Libya, Yemen and Iran, US states, cities and business will step up to the plate and push towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, just as they did before.

The devastating fires in California – one of the worst climate  disasters on US soil, shows the urgency of the need to act.

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