“Trump has substantial potential to cause trouble on climate policy”

Incoming US president Donald Trump could have many indirect effects on international climate policy, according to Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC). “Trump could try to drive the export of coal,” said Edenhofer, who is also the chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “The economic policy of the new president could also lead to rising interest rates, which would compromise the competitiveness of renewable energies. This is because the profitability of climate-friendly technologies, in contrast to coal-fired power plants, is determined primarily by their investment costs, which are dependent on the interest rate.”

Read the press release in English here.