The next Trump presidency could alter global climate policy. Here's how
CBC
U.S. carbon emissions could jump and the energy transition could take a major hit if a second Trump administration rolls back President Joe Biden's climate policies, a new analysis shows.
It would also have global reverberations at a time when the world teeters on the edge of a key warming threshold.
Research by Energy Innovation, a climate policy think-tank based in San Francisco, said emissions in the U.S. could be 1.7 gigatonnes higher in 2030 under Trump. Meanwhile, stopping the investments made under Biden could result in 1.7 million fewer jobs in 2030.
"I think what is important now is for any administration coming in ... to realize that we've reached a point where lots of clean energy is just good for lots of bottom lines," said Anand Gopal, executive director of policy research at Energy Innovation. "Abandoning it or walking away from it for ideological reasons is not necessarily the best thing to do."
But that's what Trump has indicated he will do. He has called Biden's climate policies a "green new scam," promised to "drill, baby, drill" for oil, called international climate negotiations a "rip-off of the United States" and repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus behind human-caused climate change.
During his previous administration, Trump withdrew rules to regulate emissions from automobiles, oil and gas facilities and power plants. He also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Accord, which aimed to keep warming below 2 C from pre-industrial levels, and ideally below 1.5 C.
"It's a discouraging day to be a climate scientist," said Rob Jackson, a climate scientist at Stanford University in California, referring to the incoming U.S. administration, and news that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year on record and the first year to be 1.5 C warmer than pre-industrial averages.
"It's an amazingly fast increase in global temperatures if we breach 1.5 C or even 1.55 C," he said. "It's not the same as being above 1.5 degrees long-term, but it's the start."
According to Energy Innovation's analysis, the Inflation Reduction Act and other Biden policies have generated $500 billion US in private investments in just two years. The landmark 2022 law has also created more than 330,000 new jobs in the U.S.
Gopal says it's because the legislation was designed to spur private investment and nudge companies to invest in clean technology over fossil fuels. He said that in just two years, 180 new clean energy projects have been started in the U.S. as a result, indicating how effective the investments have been.
"The biggest drivers have been in batteries and electric vehicles, but also lots of investments have gone into solar module manufacturing, and that's still growing," Gopal said.
"Most of the provisions in the IRA are preferentially giving tax credits if you decide to manufacture clean technology in the U.S. and if you decide to deploy that clean technology in the U.S."
If the Biden plan had continued to scale up over the next few years, there could've been 2.2 million additional jobs in 2030, according to Gopal's analysis.
Trump's 2024 campaign promises mirror what he tried to do during his first presidency, when he withdrew the U.S. from international climate negotiations and cancelled many environmental rules brought in by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.
The Saskatchewan NDP's pace in 2025 has been frenetic.
If you’re ever walking down this east Hamilton neighbourhood during the holiday season, there’s a festive house that just might grab your attention.
It was just a few months ago that U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he doesn’t want Canadian cars.
Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.
More than 30 years after Canada's military allowed women to serve in combat roles, it's now specifically designing uniforms and body armour to fit their bodies.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.