Investment Bank Says Future Global Climate Agreement Hinges on U.S. Presidential Election

• Susan Phillips
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  Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

A report out Thursday by the investment bank HSBC predicts the global economy will continue it’s slide, and an international deal on curbing climate change could depend on who enters the White House a year from now. The “Climate Investment Update,” produced by analysts with HSBC Global Research says three wild cards could impact  the “climate economy.”
The primary wild card is the upcoming Presidential race. With only Iowa just recently behind us, it’s unclear who will lead the Republican ticket in November. But several candidates, including Rick Perry and Rick Santorum, outright reject the idea that we humans cause climate change. Ron Paul now refers to it as a “hoax.” Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich seem to have hedged their bets, not denying climate change but flip flopping on its cause and impact. It’s unclear what they would be willing to do about it. Only Jon Huntsman has actually stated a desire to “trust science.”  If Obama gets reelected, expect a deal.
The second wild card in the report is the possibility of energy trade wars. U.S. officials have accused China of dumping solar panels, and the European Union’s unpopular cap and trade requirements for airline emissions kick in this year.
The third, of course, is the weather. Always unpredictable. For the entire report, click here.

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