Clean Energy Transition Still Looks Hopeful Globally Despite Policy Reversals in US

President Donald Trump’s administration has rolled back numerous environmental regulations, exited the Paris Agreement, and recommended reducing the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act regulations to more quickly advance AI. But that doesn’t mean the quest for clean energy has stopped for the rest of the world.  

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Despite the US backpedaling on environmental policies, global emissions are expected to drop 63% by 2060, according to a new report from DNV, an international assurance and risk management provider. 

“While the US policy pivot does create a transition setback in North America, the impact on the global transition is marginal,” reads the lengthy report, titled Global Energy Transition Outlook 2025.

More than anything, the US reversals will affect the nation rather than the world’s clean energy goals. The report estimated that “policy reversals in the US will see its emission reductions set back around 5 years.”

In July, the Trump administration released a document titled America’s AI Action Plan, which states, “America’s environmental permitting system and other regulations make it almost impossible to build this infrastructure in the United States with the speed that is required.” 

Along with reducing regulations on energy policies, the plan recommends creating regulatory exclusions that favor fast-tracking permit approvals in order to build data centers more quickly.

“The US accounts for one-seventh of global primary energy use and thus exerts some influence on the overall picture,” DNV’s report reads. “However, massive scale decarbonization of the Chinese economy continues, coupled with low-cost electro-technology exports from China to other regions.”

The report also detailed that “Chinese clean tech exports continue to propel the transition in the rest of the world,” adding that numerous other countries are embracing competitive Chinese technologies, helping the global energy transition.