Harris vs. Trump on Energy

Before the US presidential elections take place, it is worth taking a look at the energy and environmental proposals of Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

To do this, first of all, we must keep in mind the ups and downs of the United States in the face of global warming; Trump, during his administration, abandoned the Paris climate agreement, while President Biden rejoined the agreement as soon as he began his term.

Regarding hydrocarbons, while, during the Trump administration, the process of granting oil extraction permits in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was launched; In the Biden administration, oil and gas leases were cancelled in the natural habitat located in Alaska.

From this perspective, Harris, as vice president, supported the return to the Paris Agreement, and also signed the most important legislation of the Biden government: the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes extensive resources for clean energy and tax credits for the acquisition of electric vehicles.

Trump, in a second term, has said that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement again, he could even be more radical by proposing to leave the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but he would need the support of the Senate.

Regarding the tax credit for electric vehicles that Biden expanded to $7,500, Trump has said that he would consider ending it, he has not been blunt, because the Republican also bets on electric cars as long as they are built in his country; in this way, he has expressed his intention to put exorbitant tariffs on imports of vehicles produced outside the United States. In his own style, Trump has expressed that as a dictator: “We are going to close the border and we are going to drill, drill and drill. After that, I am not a dictator.”, which suggests that he will support oil and gas production in an unusual way, leaving renewables in the background.

In contrast, Harris proposes to turn her country into the global leader in the fight against climate change and the transition to clean energy by investing 500 billion dollars in sustainable infrastructure and technology.

Regardless of who wins the presidential elections in the United States, Mexico has to bet on its energy security, reducing its 80% dependence on natural gas from the United States.

Although the Biden government has put a pause on Liquefied Natural Gas projects, sooner or later the United States will have the liquefaction infrastructure that allows it to export to other latitudes and raise prices; Mexico is coming to an end to the era of cheap and available gas from the Permian Basin, the largest energy reserve in our northern neighbor.

This would put Mexico’s electrical system at risk, whose generation depends on natural gas for 59% of its energy needs. Distributed generation is an option to gain time in finding a solution.

BY MANUEL RODRÍGUEZ GONZÁLEZ

WWW.MANUELRODRIGUEZ.MX

Content originally published in spanish in El Heraldo de México.