Participants walk past the entrance to the United Nations COP29 climate conference at Baku’s Olympic Stadium.
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Baku, Azerbaijan – The 29th annual United Nations climate summit, known as the Climate Finance Conference of the Parties, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a focus on unlocking critical finance to combat environmental change and President-elect Donald Trump The impact of Trump’s comprehensive policies.
Rich Lesser, global chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, told CNBC’s Dan: “I think it will be challenging. The United States plays a very critical role as the engine of the global economy, the promoter of new technologies, and the source of capital. .
“President Trump has made it very clear that he doesn’t believe in climate change. I think he’s taken advantage of that. Say this is a scam He will take a more aggressive stance on building up America’s fossil fuel infrastructure and take a tougher view on how decarbonization investments are deployed,” Lesser added.
The new balance of power in Washington could lead to a rollback of many of the climate-related reforms passed by the current Joe Biden administration. During the campaign, Trump took aim at the Inflation Reduction Act — which he called the “new green scam” — and promised to repeal any “unspent“funds.
John Podesta, head of the U.S. delegation to COP29 and U.S. climate envoy, firmly supports Washington’s continued leadership on climate policy. He said at the opening of the annual meeting that “efforts to prevent climate change remain is a commitment by the United States and will continue with confidence.”
World Bank President Ajay Banga also expressed optimism about the incoming administration, telling CNBC, “My experience with President Donald Trump during his first term was that he listened to practical reason, No distortion.
He added, “What I would tell him is what I’m trying to do, which I think transcends any government – which is, make this place run better, run faster, run more efficiently, run stand up.
Trump has also vowed to once again withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, a 2015 pact in which nearly 200 governments have made non-binding commitments to reduce emissions. ExxonMobil Chief Executive Darren Woods has warned against a withdrawal that aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
“I encourage them to stay in the Paris Agreement,” Woods told CNBC, adding that Trump could take a “common sense approach” to reducing emissions — a task the Exxon Mobil chief said requires a global frame.
“Drill, baby, drill”
Trump has previously made hydrocarbons a key point in his campaign agenda swear “Unleashing American Energy,” and pledging to end Biden’s “delays in unlocking federal drilling licenses and leases needed for U.S. oil and gas production.”
In his speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Trump claimed that increased domestic oil and natural gas production would drive down gas prices for consumers. According to the Biden administration, U.S. crude oil production averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, breaking the national and global record of 12.3 million barrels per day set in 2019 during Trump’s first presidential term. environmental impact assessment.
“I think the opportunity for the Trump administration is to look to the future,” ExxonMobil’s Woods told CNBC.
“In the United States, it will be important to acquire additional acreage to ensure that as we move down the consumption curve of unconventional operations, the industry has access to additional resources to develop to offset the consumption that naturally occurs when producing oil.”
