U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to the Davos forum rejecting climate-focused policies coincided with the launch of a new global forum to promote clean energy and boost Africa's renewables production.
In a highly anticipated virtual speech on Thursday, the newly inaugurated U.S. leader railed against efforts to combat climate change that he labeled "the Green New Scam." He highlighted his order withdrawing the U.S. from the "one-sided" 2015 Paris climate treaty and his decision to end an "insane and costly" federal program supporting purchases of electric vehicles.
"The United States has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we're going to use it," he said. "And I'm also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil."
Trump's remote speech to the World Economic Forum contrasted sharply with an announcement by leaders of the European Commission and International Energy Agency to create a Global Energy Transition Forum.
The new forum, which includes Brazil, Canada, Congo, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, the U.A.E. and U.K., aims to fulfill global climate pledges to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.
"The world is moving faster than ever towards clean energy," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Last year alone, global spending on clean energy hit a record US$2 trillion. For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, you had two dollars invested in renewable energy."
She said the new global energy forum would work to ensure that the global energy targets "find their way into the next wave of Nationally Determined Contributions, the famous NDCs," which are at the heart of the Paris climate treaty – and to help "turn these targets into very concrete projects."
The NDCs include each country's pledge to reduce emissions, with specific targets and measures the countries promise to take to adapt to climate change, along with strategies and timeframes for achieving those goals.
"Only what gets measured gets done. This is why, we rely on the trusted partnership with the International Energy Agency to measure this progress of our goals," she said.
The forum also will "help to unlock more investment," said von der Leyen. "We can also learn from African governments, who are introducing tax breaks, public-private partnerships and renewable energy incentives. We see already that these efforts are bearing fruit. Because in the last two years clean energy investments in Africa already nearly doubled."
'Electric mobility is the future'
The Davos forum each year serves as the backdrop for a broader debate on how nations are responding to the pressures of climate change, economic competition and technological innovation, with sharp contrasts emerging not only between the U.S. and its traditional allies, but also between countries like China, South Africa, and Germany.
Trump's shift raises concerns the U.S. will fall behind in the global EV race and miss crucial opportunities to make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. China already has an almost three-quarters share of the global EV market, while 1-in-5 vehicle sales in the U.S. are electric or hybrid.
Pan Jian, co-chair of Chinese battery maker CATL, told the Davos forum his nation's success with EVs is due to environmental factors and performance. South Africa's carmakers, which account for 15% of the nation's GDP, are taking a more measured approach to the EV revolution, gradually ramping up production.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said earlier in the week that one of his nation's priorities as president of the Group of 20 major economies for 2025 is "to mobilize finance for a just energy transition."
"We will seek agreement on increasing the quality and quantity of climate finance flows to developing economies as agreed at various U.N. climate change summits," he told the Davos forum. "As we accelerate the transition to low carbon economies in a manner that is just and inclusive, we must recognize the damage that climate change has already wrought. And will continue to wreak."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a critic of Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s support for the European far right, said "it is entirely clear that President Trump and his administration will keep the world watching with bated breath in the years ahead – on energy and climate policy, trade policy, foreign and security policy and a few other fields."
He, too, pointed to the growing disparity over EVs as an example of the climate divide. "Let me give you just one example: electric mobility is the future," he told the Davos forum. "There is no doubt about that. Anyone who suggests otherwise is harming our industry."
