Whether you’re wearing Birkenstocks, or shouting “Drill, baby, drill!,” this election is an important referendum on competing energy policies. The policies proposed by both candidates on the Iran deal, Keystone and clean power stand in stark contrast to one another.
“A lot of people think Clinton is going to govern from the middle like Bill [Clinton], but I think because of the Sanders primary challenge, she’s going to be constantly looking over her left shoulder for a primary challenger,” says Senior Energy Policy analyst Joe McMonigle. On most issues, Trump’s views are diametrically opposed to Clinton’s.
Here’s what that means for Clinton or Trump administration energy policy, according to McMonigle:
- Clean Power/Carbon Regulation: Supreme Court stayed the Obama’s EPA clean power plan. “Whoever picks the next Supreme Court Justice will decide the fate of this issue.”
- Energy Infrastructure: “Clinton has the potential to be much worse for energy infrastructure than Obama.” Think the Keystone pipeline. With Clinton threatened from the left, she’ll be aggressive to placate environmentalists. Trump would likely approve it in the first days of his administration.
- Iran Nuclear Deal & Oil Markets: The nuclear deal with Iran lifted sanctions and therefore added nearly 900,000 barrels a day to global markets. Clinton will continue Obama’s policy. Trump says he’ll tear up the deal, but McMonigle thinks once he sees the intelligence briefings he’ll have second thoughts.
Click here to watch the full video “Clinton vs. Trump: How Election 2016 Will Impact Financial Markets.”
