America is losing the energy innovation race. Trump can help win it
Devin Hartman, electricity policy manager at the R Street Institute, a nonprofit promoting limited government, said he was encouraged by the “pro-market” disposition of Trump’s appointees and the opportunity to promote competitive energy markets by unwinding the subsidy regime. “But to do so, they’ll have to avoid the temptation of adopting counter-industrial policy that picks different winners than the current administration,” he wrote in an email.
Ultimately, this pro-market stance could make it easier for the U.S. to adopt a price on carbon, Hartman added. “While the near-term outlook for emission pricing is bleak, if we strengthen competitive markets in the meantime, we’ll be in much better position for the market to respond effectively once emissions pricing becomes reality,” he wrote.
Many economists believe putting a price on carbon will spur innovation in clean energy.
