The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States raises questions in many policy areas about the future course of the United States. What impact will the new government have on international climate policy, especially in the event that a Trump government withdraws from the Paris Agreement or even leaves the Framework Convention on Climate Change? The discussion will begin with keynote speeches by Miranda Schreurs (energy and climate policy expert and American-born, TU Munich) and Vera Rodenhoff (head of the relevant department at the BMUB).

There are two reasons why there are questions in many policy fields about the future course of the United States: on the one hand, the election outcome hit many observers in Europe unprepared, on the other hand, the candidate Trump has in his election campaign in many areas only a few details on possible political measures announced. At the same time, the political agenda will be co-determined by Congress, in which the Republican Party has a majority in both houses.

A number of scenarios are possible for energy and climate policy and these will be discussed in the Climate Talk. These include the following questions: What image of the future administration under Donald Trump will emerge after the first three weeks, the President-elect's public appearances and the hitherto known occupations of important posts in his government? How will national climate policy develop, in which President Obama could only become active by decree (which facilitates a rollback) - and what effects will it have on energy policy, in particular, the role of coal in the national energy mix and thus the expansion of renewables and national emissions? What is the role of the states when a change of policy is initiated at the federal level?