A fracturing in the “global order” is threatening the harmony in energy policies, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned.
“We see a fracturing in the global political order in general, and there are, of course, reflections of that on the energy scene. Different countries are choosing different paths in terms of energy and climate change,” Birol told the Financial Times in an interview.
The warning follows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s removal of the so-called endangerment finding, which served as the basis for climate change-focused policies passed in significant numbers during the Biden administration. The finding stipulated that carbon dioxide, methane, and four other gases were harmful to people’s health and well-being.
This was the latest move by the Trump administration to dismantle Biden’s climate regulations and legislation as it prioritises energy security—and energy dominance—over emission reduction.
Yet even the European Union, which consistently states emission reduction is still priority number-one, has been walking back some of its new regulations and commitments, under pressure from the business world, which has been bearing the cost of those commitments, alongside consumers.
The 2035 ban on internal combustion engine cars, for instance, has been renegotiated and is no longer a done deal, and now the authorities in Brussels are mulling over ways to reduce energy costs for industrial consumers in a bid to prevent the complete deindustrialization of the bloc. A revision of emission permit trading is also on the agenda, with the chemicals industry calling for an urgent revamp of the system and a cancellation of the planned phaseout of free carbon permits.
Climate change was “moving down the international policy agenda,” Birol said this week, summarizing the latest trends in energy policies. That move down the agenda has even reached China, which this year reduced subsidies for electric vehicles, which immediately affected sales, leading to a 20% monthly drop.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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