A Trump Win Puts $1 Trillion in US Energy Investments at Risk

(Bloomberg) -- A victory by Republican Donald Trump in the US presidential election threatens $1 trillion in energy investments and future support for low-carbon energy sources, according to a Wood Mackenzie report. 

A Trump administration likely will put forward policies that reduce help for electric vehicles, renewable energy and carbon capture technologies while promoting fossil fuel production, the report said. Trump has already vowed to issue an executive order targeting offshore wind development if he wins. Wood Mackenzie said lower investments in US energy would delay the country’s push to zero out greenhouse gas emissions.

“This election cycle will really influence the pace of energy investment, both in the next five years and through 2050,” David Brown, director of Wood Mackenzie’s energy transition research, said Thursday in a statement.

President Joe Biden ushered in sweeping legislation aimed at moving the US away from a fossil-fuel powered economy. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides incentives for clean-energy technologies that could be worth about $1.2 trillion, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimate from April 2023. While Trump is unlikely to fully repeal the IRA, he would likely issue executive orders that would abandon Biden’s green energy goals and soften emissions requirements, Wood Mackenzie’s report said.

If policy support for low-carbon energy is cut back, fossil fuel demand would peak at least 10 years later than current projections and a net zero carbon target by 2050 will become out of reach, Wood Mackenzie said.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.