Finally, Trump does something good for the planet. He just didn’t mean to

March 31, 2026 — 7:30pm

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It’s not often that climate advocates find themselves quietly grateful to Donald Trump for anything. And yet, here we are.

Not because of anything he set out to do. But because in a world shaped by conflict, strongman politics and economic brinkmanship, something has become increasingly obvious. Fossil fuels aren’t just a climate problem. They’re an economic liability.

Recent global events have delivered what the UN climate chief called “an abject lesson” that fossil fuel dependence is “ripping away national security and sovereignty, and replacing it with subservience and rising costs”.

That’s not activist rhetoric. That’s financial reality, and it’s now a pattern.

Over the past five years, we’ve seen the same story repeat itself. A geopolitical disruption, a war, a blockade, a diplomatic fracture, and suddenly, energy markets lurch, prices spike, and governments are forced into costly interventions just to stabilise supply.

These shocks don’t just affect wholesale markets. They flow directly through to households, small businesses and national budgets. They shape inflation, interest rates and ultimately household finances. In that world, the question is no longer simply how we reduce emissions. It is how we reduce exposure.

The European Union alone spent more than €420 billion ($685 billion) on fossil........

© The Sydney Morning Herald