Nobel Economist Warns Trump Energy Policies Could Leave America Behind Global Clean Tech Revolution
New York, Sunday, 22 February 2026.
Paul Krugman cautions that Trump administration’s aggressive opposition to clean energy represents corrupting influence of big money interests attempting to block inevitable electrotech transition. Despite renewable energy now being cost-competitive with fossil fuels, policies blocking wind and solar projects risk making America backward and economically irrelevant while other nations advance.
Administration’s War on Clean Energy Accelerates
The Trump administration has dramatically escalated its opposition to renewable energy initiatives in February 2026, implementing what Krugman describes as a comprehensive “blockade” against clean energy projects [1]. On February 4, 2026, the administration imposed restrictions that delayed or revoked permits for wind and solar projects across the nation [1]. This aggressive stance expanded further by February 9, 2026, when the administration “has gone to war against any and all efforts to limit climate change” [1]. The timing of these policies comes as climate scientists report an “extreme” warming spike from 2023 to 2025, with Berkeley Earth noting this period “suggests an acceleration in the rate of Earth’s warming” [1].
Economic Reality Contradicts Policy Direction
The administration’s anti-renewable stance directly contradicts current market fundamentals, where solar and wind power have achieved cost-competitiveness with fossil fuels [1]. Clean energy exchange-traded funds demonstrate the sector’s robust financial performance, with the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN) posting a remarkable 65.96 percent one-year return as of February 19, 2026 [2]. The iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (NASDAQ: ICLN) delivered a 62.29 percent one-year performance, while the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy (NASDAQ: QCLN) achieved 48.76 percent returns over the same period [2]. These figures illustrate what Krugman characterizes as “green energy economics are now more favorable than they have ever been” [2].
Big Money Interests Drive Policy Resistance
Krugman argues the administration’s energy policies reflect the “corrupting influence” of established financial interests rather than sound economic analysis [1][2]. The Nobel laureate specifically points to decades of influence from entities like the Koch brothers, who “have spent decades promoting right-wing politics and keeping America burning fossil fuels” [1]. Additionally, Krugman suggests Middle Eastern petrostates may be influencing U.S. policy by “enriching the Trump family” [1]. This financial influence operates against the backdrop of mounting health costs from fossil fuel dependence, with coal-burning power plants alone causing “hundreds of thousands of excess U.S. deaths between 1999 and 2020” [1].
Global Competitiveness at Risk
The economist warns that resistance to the “electrotech transition” risks leaving the United States “backward, poorer, sicker, and irrelevant” while other nations advance with renewable energy technologies [2]. Colorado lawmakers have already begun pushing back against the administration’s attempts to force continued operation of old coal power plants, demonstrating state-level resistance to federal energy policies [3]. As the global economy increasingly shifts toward renewable energy infrastructure, Krugman cautions the U.S. risks being “left behind in global competition” and suffering both economically and health-wise by failing to capitalize on the “renewable energy revolution” [2]. The administration’s simultaneous opposition to both clean energy and scientific institutions more broadly threatens to undermine America’s technological leadership at a critical juncture in the global energy transition [4].