Houston hosts prominent energy industry executives and policymakers this week at the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference, presenting the first major industry event since Trump occupied the White House and aggressively repealed climate policies.
Although Trump will not be present, the main federal faces of the administration would include Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and they all will be in attendance at the conference to espouse the administration’s agenda under the slogan “Drill Baby Drill”.
Trump’s Executive Order: “Unleashing American Energy”
Trump signed the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order within hours of being sworn into office on January 20, clearly signaling a break from the climate-focus of the Biden administration. Among other things, the order:
- Ends Green New Deal implementation and stops many subsidy programs for clean energy.
- Removes barriers to oil and gas drilling, encouraging pushes toward increased domestic fossil fuel production.
- Lifts the Biden-era freeze on new LNG export permits, following the announcement by Venture Global last week of a major $18 billion expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Louisiana.
Industry Reaction: Confusion Behind Policy Changes
In fact, investors and industry leaders have not been that bullish about President Trump’s drive to speed up well drilling for fossil fuels. Wall Street, in fact, has preferred for the most part to merely collect dividends and authorizing buybacks rather than reinvesting in aggressive drilling.
Dan Pickering, the energy analyst based in Houston warned that 2025 could be a year where paralysis takes place in energy transition because firms might postpone any moves to decarbonize based on the shifting federal policies.
Major People and Talks at CERAWeek
The five-day CERA conference is graced by some of the most prominent personalities globally in the energy industry, including CEOs from Chevron, Shell, and Saudi Aramco, and government officials from some major energy importers, like India, and exporters, like Libya.
Key discussions of topics include:
- Low-carbon technologies and AI-dependent electricity demands.
- OPEC for a stable world oil market.
- Geopolitical revolutions in the energy game.
- Europe’s energy security in the future without Russian gas.
- European Concerns Over Trump’s Foreign Policy
One prominent item on the agenda is Europe’s energy future after the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump’s warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and strained ties with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have raised more questions among European leaders over the reliability of US LNG as a long-term energy solution.
Jonathan Elkind, of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, was senior fellow, and he said US LNG had been very important for Europe’s energy independence. On the other hand, he noted an increasing uncertainty for European leaders:
While it may be difficult to tell whether Donald Trump is a friend or foe as a matter of principle, that phrase in itself becomes shocking after 70 years of a close transatlantic alliance.
The Road Ahead for US Energy Policy
While the Biden administration’s climate policies have been dismantled, the future of renewable energy investment in the US is pretty vague. Trump’s policies, meanwhile, continue to agitate the debate on whether a fossil fuel-driven energy agenda can realize effects at the global energy transition and market stability.
With such high stakes for both domestic and foreign energy markets, decisions made by policymakers in the coming months will most likely have a consequential impact on the shape of global energy dynamics for years to come.
