WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 50
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
Financial institutions are scaling back their
commitments on emission reductions. The Trump
administration’s energy policies, including executive orders
promoting coal production368 , have prompted several major
U.S. 昀椀nancial institutions to retreat from their zero-coal
commitments. Six prominent banks, including JPMorgan
Chase and Citigroup369, managing over $14.29 trillion in assets
(20% of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance’s total), have withdrawn
from the alliance, citing increased regulatory uncertainty and
the new US administration policy. This withdrawal could
impede the global energy transition by prolonging 昀椀nancing
of coal.
The new US Administration claims that ESG practices are
detrimental to business and that unnecessary regulations
impede economic growth. After the US withdrawal from the
Paris Agreement, the US and US companies are no longer
formally committed to limiting global warming and face fewer
regulations related to emissions and environmental standards.
International 昀椀rms that work with the US administration have
shifted away from their former ESG commitments, and proxy
advisory 昀椀rms such as Glass Lewis372 (that advise shareholders
on their voting at the general assemblies) have also scrapped
their ESG requirements.
Some companies may struggle to meet their own ESG goals in
a less supportive regulatory environment such as the US and
could fear losing opportunities in the US. However, there is
still support for ESG policies in many C-suites. According to
the 2024 BDO survey373, 53% of CFOs surveyed said they have
embedded ESG principles into their core business strategy or
are actively working on it, compared to 33% a year before.
This commitment to ESG objectives is more pronounced in
European companies than in American.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-ai-data-centers-energy-dominance-693e2604785c07昀昀790d9afd2e06d543
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/08/us-banks-quit-net-zero-alliance-before-trump-inauguration
ESG: Environment Social Governance
371
https://www.昀椀nancierworldwide.com/trump-and-esg-the-outlook-for-2025
372
https://perkinscoie.com/insights/blog/glass-lewis-voting-policy-changes-2025-8-things-know
373
https://insights.bdo.com/rs/116-EDP-270/images/IND-2024-Agnostic-CFO-Survey_Report_email.pdf?version=0&mkt_tok=MTE2LUVEUC0yNzAAAAGbx8L8KDDEbMGk7zjyKMiYCpD8ohiUrrGkR
ILo-PTXfJ_3hamNodxBOPYc9b6GM-CyvcYvrgdIi0mHSxtNEv7bwlzeBczsHGVVfA7ZJB-nEA4R_-o
374
https://www.ainvest.com/news/poland-crossroads-2025-election-redraw-europe-energy-map-2505/
375
https://www.euractiv.com/section/eet/news/german-gas-drive-fuels-fears-of-climate-backsliding/
376
https://www.euractiv.com/section/eet/news/hungary-and-gazprom-in-talks-for-extra-russian-gas-for-budapest-in-2025/
368
369
370
Political changes in European countries are
signalling a slowing down on energy transition
e昀昀orts:
• In Poland, the newly elected President Karol Nawrocki has a
vision of “energy sovereignty” prioritizing Poland's traditional
ties to coal, U.S. LNG, and bilateral alliances over EU climate
mandates374. This could slow down the country’s e昀昀orts on
clean technologies implementation.
• In August 2025, the new German conservative lead new
government declared that it wants to build 20 GW capacity of
gas-昀椀red power plants by 2030, to guarantee energy supplies
for their struggling industry.375 Let’s recall that Germany closed
(for political reasons) all its nuclear plants and that it has
decided to phase-out its coal plants by 2038.
• Hungary’s energy policy in 2025 continues to rely heavily
on natural gas, particularly from Russia, which supplies
~75% of annual consumption. In October 2024 it entered
into negotiations with Gazprom to increase gas imports376
WEMO 2025
There are signs of a growing disengagement from climate
action by companies and banks. Public support for
renewable energy is decreasing due to concerns over
unaffordable costs and the "Not in my backyard" syndrome.
Moreover, European increased defense budget financing is
putting pressure on EU and national budgets and could
result in reduced funding for climate change actions.
Political changes in the US are negatively impact
ESG370 outlooks. 371
49
Are we at a tipping point of the
energy transition?
