President Trump finally made his much-anticipated announcement that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Thursday, a move that bodes well for the fossil fuel industry.
Despite what is a positive sign for coal, oil and gas companies, coal stocks slipped Wednesday following a leak of Trump’s decision, and ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips both reiterated support for sticking with the deal. As Bloomberg reports, that is due to the fact that market forces and specific government policies are more important to energy demand than the Paris deal.
Nonetheless, the move will benefit fossil fuels, and consequently also hurt renewable energy companies, the biggest losers from Trump’s decision. Though Bloomberg writes that losses will not significantly affect the long-term trend for renewables:
“The impact is going to be irrelevant,” Richard Chatterton, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst, said in an interview. “In terms of renewables, there isn’t going to be a change in the trend.”
The reason boils down to state policies, economics and corporate demand. Even as Washington rolls back efforts to promote renewables, California, New York and other states are forging ahead. And after years of being supported by subsidies, wind and solar prices have plunged so much they can compete with fossil fuels in many areas.”