Is Donald Trump Pushing Us Towards Green Tech...?
This may sound counter-intuitive but Donald Trump might have accelerated the world's switch to Green Energy, while his intent was the complete opposite.
There's a pretty simple reason for this: renewable energy offers as security buffer against the global supply chain uncertainties which Donald Trumps' policies are causing.
We saw this first with the Ukraine war as gas prices soared, and now we're seeing it again with the Iran war and the soaring petrol prices.
Energy Security Changes Everything
For years, people who didn’t buy into renewables said fossil fuels were cheaper and more reliable. They were supposed to be the backbone of economic growth. But the past few years have flipped that thinking.
If your pipeline can be cut off by a falling out or a conflict, then the fact that it's cheap for 10 years doesn't matter when the supply gets cut off in year 11 - no country has the capacity to store one year's worth of gas.
Renewable energy simply offers more reliability, and every country, even the US, is pumping huge sums into green tech.
The Return of Industrial Policy
There’s a bigger economic shift happening too.
Britain spent decades drifting away from hands-on industrial policy. Government just trusted markets to sort themselves out, while finance and services took center stage.
But recent economic shocks, one might even say being in a state of perpetual shock now Trump is in power, have prompted the government to take industrial policy a bit more seriously - it's giving serious support to AI for example.
The old belief was simple: global markets would always deliver the goods, cheaply and quickly. But Covid, wars, chip shortages, and misery in supply chains have ended this.
So, countries want their own capability in critical stuff—energy, chips, batteries, defense tech, AI.
Britain’s got real opportunities here—offshore wind, strong universities, engineering know-how, innovative manufacturing. Those could actually fuel a national strategy.
Final thoughts...
Who would have thought that climate policy would ever line up with national interest....?!?
Governments don’t need to have some deep environmental conviction to back renewables. If greener tech boosts energy security, cuts out risky foreign suppliers, and creates new jobs, it’s a win-win!
Very interesting perspective. I agree that sometimes political decisions can create unexpected consequences. Even if the intention is not to support green technology, energy security concerns, supply chain risks, and geopolitical tensions can push countries toward renewables more strongly. In the end, green tech is not only about climate anymore; it is also about independence, resilience, and long-term economic strategy. Great analysis!
I don't understand the stock market. I don't have a head for money. But I do have an inclination to survive. My family and I have talked about going 'off the grid' by getting solar panels and having storage batteries large enough for us to be independent of an external source. Problem is, that's really, really expensive. Some people in my area get solar panels and have an arrangement with the local power companies. I don't really understand what that is, but it makes the panels more affordable. I'm not interested. I don't see how that increases my energy security. I'd like to be completely independent.
I think there is a growing movement in my country (US) to be energy independent.
We experienced some of that in the late 70s. Americans drove big, inefficient cars. And when fuel prices shot up, people started considering more economic options. We saw increased demand for Japanese cars.
Somebody somewhere made decisions that affected everybody. And everybody, being rational actors, changed their behaviors to compensate.
In my case, I putt around on a Honda scooter for errands rather than take the car. Solar panels. Cook at home. And, I suppose if I had the capacity, I'd put in more solar panels. Small improvements add up. We can't rely on government to make decisions for us. It's up to us to be rational about our situation to mitigate the damage done by the people who run things.
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