The man who once called climate change a hoax that had been perpetuated by the Chinese is now residing in the White House and for the next 4 or 8 years, the green economy will need to learn to deal with the changes which he will bring. Donald Trump has stated throughout his campaign that more oil and gas lease would be handed out on federal lands under his Presidency as well as even more fracking and offshore drilling to take place, not to mention him “stopping the war on coal”. It is fair to say that this would have ramifications for the entire planet and their policies towards the environment.
Intentions vs. Actions
Trump has already made his intentions very clear through stating his intentions to pull out of the Paris agreement, one which would see a large quantity of nations commit to significant reductions in their carbon footprint. Green groups and businesses absolutely have a fight on their hands in the coming years as more legislation and agreements look set to be pulled by Trump.
Stock Prices
Solar and wind energy companies saw growth of 4 and 28 percent respectively last year as the Obama administration took a leadership role on the World stage when it came to renewable options. Trump’s own figures predict that this will flatline and by 2024 may see some growth of around 2.4%. Renewables stock prices have been running around in circles ever since it first became apparent that a Trump presidency was possible. Large firms will no doubt have the financial weight to weather the storm but the same cannot be said for many of the newer, innovative companies that are trying to grow. Conversely commodities such as oil, gas and coal have risen slightly. There is still much uncertainty in the market, many have questioned Trump’s intentions versus the actions that he will actually take and whether he simply over-promised in order to get win votes from those on the right.
Infrastructure Hope
There is some faint hope for the green economy as the President has committed to investing $500 billion into infrastructure throughout the next 4 years. Should this investment find its way to aiding the power grid then it will be good news for renewable companies who can supplement some of the energy. The only piece of good news for green companies is that it is a great source of employment, something which even an anti-green Trump cannot disagree with and would no doubt think twice before pulling the plug on so many jobs.