Energy markets face bifurcation point as US election looms

Either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will enter the White House as president in January 2025, and the gulf between their energy and climate policy agendas will have global implications

When Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the US in January 2017, he quickly set about undoing much of what had been achieved on energy and climate policy during Barack Obama’s two terms in office.  In June 2017, Trump announced the US would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change—despite the country having been a leader in securing that agreement—beginning a four-year exit process and weakening international resolve to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).  Also in 2017, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review efforts to reduce emissions from electricity generation in the US under the Clean