A TIGHT ROPEWALK

With Trump's return to the White House, India faces pivotal choices on energy trade, climate goals, and energy transition

- Arjun Yadav

FOR ANY head of the state/ executive designate in a democracy, the administration or the cabinet of ministers they choose becomes a significant indicator of their term's agenda and policy focus. So when US President-elect Donald Trump on 16 November 2024 announced his pick to lead the Department of Energy, it became clear what the fate of the global climate talks and the transition towards clean energy could be.

Trump named Chris Wright, Founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm based in Denver, Colorado, as his energy secretary nominee. Wright has been a vocal advocate of fossil fuel use and has written extensively on the need for more fossil fuel production to lift people out of poverty. A climate sceptic, Wright, in a video posted on LinkedIn, remarked, "There is no climate crisis, and we're not in the midst of an energy transition, either." His stance resonates with that of Trump, who revived the slogan of "Drill Baby, Drill" in the run-up to the elections and called for increased domestic oil and gas drilling.

Trump has also called for rolling back regulations that he believes hinder fossil fuel industries, notably outgoing President Biden's flagship climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Hence, it was no surprise that the oil industry was among the top donors to Trump's campaign.

Democratic administrations in the past have pushed climate and energy to the top of the bilateral agenda, including with India. But with Trump's emphasis on trade policy, not once but twice since winning the election in November, the President-designate has threatened India with reciprocal tariffs.

"The word reciprocal is important. If India charges us 100 per cent, do we charge them nothing for the same?.... If they want to charge us, that's fine, but we're going to charge them the same thing," said Trump in a news conference on 16 December.