EU could benefit economically from US climate backtracking – German foreign minister

European industry could profit from a possible US drawback in climate-policy related collaborations, said Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock. Climate protection would work best with different partners all over the world, but “if […] players, such as the new US administration, pull out of [global cooperations], let me say simply - economically and power-consciously as a European - that this would be to the advantage of the European economy. Because the global energy transition will continue to progress,” she said.

The outgoing minister from the Green Party said the more Europeans invest in their own energy supply and in climate-neutral technologies, the greater their future market share would be. Speaking at the 11th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, Baerbock emphasised that “our goal as the European Union is to now become the first climate neutral continent in the world even faster.”

The new US administration under president Donald Trump has sparked tensions with the EU by signalling a shift away from global climate cooperation, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and expanding fossil fuel extraction. Trump's stance challenges European efforts to accelerate the transition to clean energy and reduce carbon emissions.

The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), hosted by the German government, is an international forum focused on advancing the global energy transition towards renewable energy sources. It brings together international energy transition actors like government officials and business leaders in the German capital. A recent report can by Germany's Institute for Economic Research (DIW) found that the country can benefit from Trump’s green tech assault by luring clean tech producers with greater political stability.