Trump regime is out of sync with sustainability in the world – Europe, India and China are committed to the clean energy transition: Jaideep Prabhu

Jaideep Prabhu is a professor of business and business at the University of Cambridge Judges’ School of Business. In his speech with Srijana Mitra Das, he discussed the progress of the net zero movement – despite Donald Trump:

Q: Can sustainability be maintained in the era of tariffs?
A: So far, there is great uncertainty about the tariffs planned to be imposed by the United States. No one knows their full nature, how others will react or how long this will last. Nevertheless, however, there are strong pro-environmental trends around the world – these trends will continue to exist, especially in the energy sector, which will continue to move towards renewable energy. This change is not driven by geopolitics or ideology, but by technology and economics. Over the past few years, the world has witnessed the clean energy revolution.
This will only grow given the economics of economics, especially the economy of solar and wind and battery storage technologies. Over the past 15 years, their price trend has dropped very dramatically. The only obstacle is storage – now being addressed quickly, partly through the transfer to electric vehicles (EVs), where China’s success pushes other autonomous manufacturing countries toward EV folding. There will soon be a second-hand market battery market that can also be used for households, small industrial units, etc. Other interesting trends include AI, an industry that is very eager for energy. Many large players in the field (also have their own net zero goals) are seeking clean energy, including nuclear power.
Often, nuclear energy is a long-term commitment, expensive and has some risks, but now there are a lot of progress in small modular reactors. Importantly, in the United States, even in red states, Republicans prevail and Donald Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” news resonates, there is a massive transition to renewable energy transition – considering Texas, where Elon Musk’s Megapack battery factory is located. In the UK, more than 50% of national energy demand last year was provided by solar and wind energy. Germany has made faster net progress than the country itself imagined, mainly from solar and wind. China and India have also made great progress in this field.

Q: But people worry about energy security, which started with Donald Trump and the Ukrainian crisis – can renewable energy solve this problem?
A: Actually, this is another driver that pushes the country to renewable energy. China is turning to renewable energy to improve its energy security and meet its enormous power needs, rather than relying on foreign resources that can be cut off amid geopolitical tensions. This is also Joe Biden’s approach to the Inflation Lower Act (IRA), which aims to support and subsidize clean energy in the United States and ultimately make fossil fuels independent.Q: On the one hand, do you see the Trump Group? Are most other countries aligning environmental issues with their economic and energy needs now?
A: The Trump regime and its rhetoric seem to be completely out of sync with the rest of the world. Europe remains very committed to the goals of its Paris Agreement – ​​except the United States, we see the same in other G7 countries. For safety and environmental reasons, developing economies are also turning to clean energy, including efforts to reduce pollution and reduce the contribution of fossil fuels to social well-being. The demand for transition pace in most countries is very reasonable, which will depend on technological advances, affordability and climate justice issues. Our perception of sustainability may be distorted because Trump’s effect is so loud-but the facts show a sustained trend in the energy transition, purely because of the economics involved. Getting energy from today’s solar and wind (if nuclear enters that framework) adds another key dimension, then it’s more affordable.

Also consider the role of AI here – given the intense competition in this field, as each country develops its own plans, we are approaching the emergence of artificial universal intelligence (AGI). This will be a gamechanger, and the system can be improved exponentially – and the technology can then be turned to climate issues, energy changes, etc. Therefore, there are some urgent technological breakthroughs that do not specifically involve energy but are used to improve these systems. Interestingly, American space may also change. Due to the Trump effect, some environmental development commitments in U.S. companies are now lowering – but this is a very American phenomenon. Even there, while many companies may talk less about sustainability, that doesn’t mean they do very little about it. Strategically, it is in their interest to take this toward an economic sense. Now, Wall Street is receiving increasing criticism as Trump’s tariffs cause turmoil – tariffs will negatively impact U.S. business operations, supply chains, and consumers. How many restrictions will American companies have. We can see that the sustainability of Trump’s tariff regime is ultimately questioned.

The opinions expressed are personal