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President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he takes office Monday, months after promising voters that he would cut their electric and gasoline prices in half in the first year of his administration.

 “To achieve this rapid reduction in energy costs, I will declare a national emergency to allow us to dramatically increase energy production, generation and supply,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Potterville, Michigan last August. “Starting on day one, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new reactors and we will slash the red tape.”

The president-elect reiterated as recently as Dec. 22 his intention to “declare a national energy emergency” on the first day of his administration. He vowed to issue a series of executive orders to reverse Biden administration policies on natural gas exports, drilling and emissions standards.

Trump plans to establish a National Energy Council led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, his pick to lead the Department of the Interior. Burgum said during a Senate hearing on his nomination this week that he expects the council to be established through an executive order.

It is unclear whether emergency declaration would be largely symbolic or would invoke broader powers that go beyond the executive orders on energy that Trump is widely expected to issue Monday. The president-elect’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

“My anticipation is that it will be a rhetorical declaration of an energy emergency,” said Mike Sommers, president of the oil industry’s lobby group American Petroleum Institute. “When you bundle together the executive orders, that will be the answer to what to do about the energy emergency.”

There are several emergency statutes Trump could invoke that are related to energy, said Glenn Schwartz, director of energy policy at the consulting firm Rapidan Energy. Emergencies are often loosely defined under federal law, giving the president broad discretion to use them as he sees fit, Schwartz said.

And Trump would likely face little pushback from the courts because they are reluctant to challenge presidential determinations related to national security, Schwartz said.

“What you end up with is that even if Trump were to expand his emergency powers in unprecedented ways, it is not clear that courts would step in to halt any of these resulting actions,” the analyst said.

Likely emergency authorities

There is a clear precedent for Trump to invoke emergency authority to promote power generation and expand the nation’s fuel supply, Schwartz told clients in a research report published last Thursday. Authorities using the powers would waive certain environmental and pollution rules related to energy.

Trump could issue fuel waivers under the Clean Air Act to allow gasoline onto the market that would otherwise violate federal air quality standards, the analyst said. Presidents have often used such waivers whenever they needed to stretch the country’s gasoline supply and keep prices in check, he said.

Trump could also invoke the Federal Power Act to order power plants to run at maximum capacity and not comply with pollution limits, Schwartz said. The energy secretary can invoke the act during wartime or when a sudden increase in demand or a shortage of electricity creates an emergency situation.

The provision has been rarely used since World War II and has mostly been reserved for situations where extreme weather has overwhelmed power plants, Schwartz said.

The largest grid operator in the U.S., PJM Interconnection, has warned of a power shortfall as coal plants are retired faster than new capacity is brought online. PJM operates the grid in all or parts of 13 states, in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South.

The situation could become more acute as electricity demand increases significantly as the tech sector builds out energy-hungry data centers to support artificial intelligence applications.

The first Trump administration considered invoking the act in 2018 to order utilities to buy two years of power from coal and nuclear plants that were at risk of shutting down. The administration at the time ultimately dropped the idea after facing push back from industry.

Trump could also opt for a broader statute that lets the president suspend pollution laws for industrial facilities, power plants, oil refineries, steel mills, chemical plants and other industrial facilities in emergency situations, Schwartz said.

There is less support under federal law for the president to force new production, Schwartz said. Trump could direct federal agencies to fast track environmental reviews on energy projects he supports, such as pipelines, but the president cannot use emergency authorities to circumvent bedrock environmental policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, the analyst said.

Expected executive orders

Oil industry lobbyists at the American Petroleum Institute are anticipating that Trump will issue a series of orders tied to energy as soon as Monday.

The administration is expected to issue an order lifting the Biden team’s pause on new liquified natural gas export facilities, Sommers said. The president-elect will also likely try to reverse President Biden’s recent decision to ban drilling in 625 million acres of federal waters. Trump’s authority to do this has been disputed and such an order would likely end up in court.

“We are of the view that he has the ability to reverse that and we’ll defend that in court,” Sommers said.

The industry is anticipating the president will also direct the Interior Department to increase oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf Mexico, Sommers said. The Biden administration had issued the fewest leases in history under a program set to run through 2029.

These decisions are not expected to have any immediate impact on production. The U.S. has been the world’s largest producer of oil and gas for six years, outpacing Saudi Arabia and Russia. The CEOs of Exxon and Chevron have made clear that production decisions are based on market conditions, not in response to who is in the White House.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” Schwartz said. “He can give them all the resources they need to be able to drill, but I haven’t seen anything that suggests he can force them to take it out of the ground.”

Trump is expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Executive orders targeting tailpipe emission and fuel economy standards for cars are also expected.

Still, only so much can be done through executive order, Sommers said, and the directives often have to go through a rulemaking process that takes time. The oil industry is more focused on pushing for more durable policy changes in the Republican-controlled Congress, he said.

“There’s not a lot of stuff that they’re going to be able to do on day one, other than direct federal agencies to fulfill their promise of energy dominance,” Sommers said.

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Why a landmark ruling from the world’s top court puts financial markets on notice

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Why a landmark ruling from the world’s top court puts financial markets on notice

Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu (C) delivers a speech as he attends a demonstration ahead of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) session tasked with issuing the first Advisory Opinion (AO) on States’ legal obligations to address climate change, in The Hague on July 23, 2025.

John Thys | Afp | Getty Images

Gripped by corporate earnings season and U.S. President Donald Trump‘s back-and-forth tariff policy, investors largely shrugged off a historic climate ruling from the world’s top court.

But for some, the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent advisory opinion on state’s legal obligations in the face of climate change could emerge as a watershed moment for financial markets.

Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz, one of the world’s biggest insurers, said that close watchers of the ICJ’s July 23 ruling described it as perhaps the most significant climate development since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

At the time, the pronouncement marked the ICJ’s first-ever opinion on climate change and laid out that climate action is not optional.

The court said in a unanimous ruling that governments and countries have a legal obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions, protect present and future generations from the climate crisis and to cooperate internationally.

Notably, the ICJ also found that fossil fuel production, including licensing and subsidies, “may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State.”

This opinion for investors, for capital market participants, really means something.

Günther Thallinger

Board member at Allianz

The ruling, which was the brainchild of young law students in low-lying Pacific island states and championed by the government of Vanuatu, is widely expected to have far-reaching legal and political consequences.

Speaking in a personal capacity, Thallinger said that while the ICJ’s opinion is based on existing law and conventions, the ruling could yet have meaningful ramifications for a vast range of assets — whether one cares about climate change or not.

“If one takes as an investor what the International Court of Justice just said, then a revaluation of these assets needs to happen. Every prudent investor must do this now,” Thallinger told CNBC by video call.

“Even if they don’t like the discussion around climate change, even if they would say they denigrate the Court of Justice completely, they must expect that, in some countries, some governments, some courts are going to follow this opinion,” Thallinger said.

“If they follow this opinion, it has asset valuation implications, quite clearly. So, this opinion for investors, for capital market participants, really means something.”

Licensing and subsidies

On the issue of licensing and subsidies, Thallinger said the ICJ’s ruling could prove to be a significant development.

That’s because licensing and permitting for the mining sector, for example, and government subsidies for fossil fuels could be at risk following the court opinion. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas is the chief driver of the climate crisis.

“If subsides are unlawful, then one should expect that subsidies are somehow stopped at a certain point in time,” Thallinger said.

“Now, certain business processes live on these subsidies or at least benefit to a certain degree on these subsidies. And, as always for an investor, usually you look simply at the cashflow, and if the cashflow part is missing or all of a sudden becomes much smaller then that means another valuation,” he added.

President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Yuji Iwasawa (C) and members issue first Advisory Opinion (AO) on States’ legal obligations to address climate change, in The Hague on July 23, 2025.

John Thys | Afp | Getty Images

The U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest carbon emitters, provided a mixed response to the ICJ’s ruling.

“As always, President Trump and the entire administration is committed to putting America first and prioritizing the interests of everyday Americans,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in response to the court opinion, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said the ruling has a “positive significance” for advancing international climate cooperation and sought to reaffirm the Asian country’s status as a developing country.

Mixed signals

Not everyone is as concerned about the ICJ’s ruling from an investor standpoint.

“I feel like the wide spectrum of views that exist in the investor community on climate change, and the action that investors are supposed to take, will probably mean that the decision is a bit of a Rorschach test,” Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional insights for Morningstar, told CNBC by video call.

“People are just going to see things that kind of confirm their existing view,” he added.

A Rorschach test refers to a psychological assessment during which a person is asked to describe what they see in a series of inkblots.

Ida Kassa Johannesen, head of commercial ESG at Saxo Bank, said the ICJ’s intervention is a non-binding advisory opinion, rather than a ruling, “and this distinction is crucial.”

A firefighter falls on the ground while working to extinguish a wildfire in San Cibrao das Viñas, outside Ourense, northwestern Spain, on August 12, 2025.

Miguel Riopa | Afp | Getty Images

A spokesperson at ABP, one of Europe’s largest pension funds, welcomed what they billed as “the spirit” of the court’s opinion, but said they do not anticipate any short-term ramifications for financial markets.

“The ICJ’s advisory opinion sends a signal that climate inaction may constitute a breach of international law. However, given its non-binding nature, we don’t expect immediate changes in national policies or financial markets,” an ABP spokesperson told CNBC by email.

The Dutch pension fund, which doesn’t invest in fossil fuels and says it actively supports climate solutions, highlighted that Europe, for example, already has a lot of climate legislation in place.

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Global EV sales hit 10.7M in 2025 – Europe surges, US stalls

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Global EV sales hit 10.7M in 2025 – Europe surges, US stalls

Global EV sales are still riding high, with 1.6 million EVs sold in July 2025, according to new data from global research firm Rho Motion. That’s up 21% from July last year, even though sales dipped 9% from June. It brings total EV sales for the first seven months of the year to 10.7 million – up 27% compared to the same period in 2024.

China stays on top

China continues to dominate, with 6.5 million EVs sold year-to-date, accounting for over half of all global EV sales. BEVs are still the top choice, with sales up 40% this year. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) didn’t fare as well, with domestic sales down 15% month-over-month and 10% year-over-year.

Even though Chinese EV sales dropped 13% in July from June, EVs made up over 50% of all passenger car sales for the third month in a row. The government is helping keep momentum going with another round of Q3 funding for its EV trade-in scheme, and a final 2025 round is expected in October.

Europe’s EV momentum is speeding up

Europe saw a 30% year-to-date jump in EV sales, reaching 2.3 million units. Germany and the UK are leading the pack – Germany’s up 43%, and the UK is up 32%. But France posted just a 9% year-over-year gain in July and is still down 11% for the year.

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To help turn things around, France is revamping its EV leasing program for low-income households starting September 30, aiming to support more than 50,000 purchases.

Meanwhile, Italy is the dark horse of 2025. Thanks to fresh incentives totaling around $700 million, EV sales are up 40%, and the country is quickly catching up to its neighbors. EV market share in Italy now stands at 11%, compared to 27% in Germany and over 30% in the UK.

North America stalls out except for one short-term boost

North America is lagging, with just a 2% bump in EV sales year-to-date. In the US, that’s partly due to policy uncertainty and tariffs. Automakers took a multi-billion-dollar hit in Q2, although some of that was offset by reduced requirements to buy zero-emission vehicle credits.

A spike in demand is expected in Q3, as buyers rush to take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act’s EV tax credit before it expires on September 30, but a cooldown is then anticipated.

Some automakers are shifting their EV strategies: Ford recently announced a new “Universal EV Platform” and plans to launch a $30,000 midsize electric pickup with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries by 2027.

And on the trade front, the US has inked deals with South Korea, Japan, and the EU to impose a 15% tariff on imported cars.

The bottom line

Chart: Rho Motion

Global EV sales are still charging ahead, even if the road is bumpy in some regions. China’s holding steady, Europe’s revving up, and North America’s waiting to see what happens next. Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “Despite regional variations, the overall trajectory for EV adoption in 2025 remains strongly upward.”

Read more: EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes


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Volkswagen is making some EV owners pay extra to unlock full potential

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Volkswagen is making some EV owners pay extra to unlock full potential

Another monthly subscription? Some Volkswagen EV drivers will now need to pay extra to unlock their vehicle’s full potential.

Volkswagen has put performance behind a paywall, at least for ID.3 drivers in the UK. The Volkswagen ID.3 Pro and Pro S are now listed with 201 hp on the UK website.

To unlock the vehicle’s full performance of 228 hp, drivers will now need to pay extra. You can choose from a monthly subscription, starting at £16.50 ($22) per month, or you can opt for a one-time lifetime fee of £649 ($880).

However, the one-time fee is attached to the vehicle, not the buyer. So if it’s sold, the upgrade goes with it. As Auto Express pointed out, the monthly payment is nearly three times that of a standard Netflix membership.

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Although the performance upgrade locks the extra power behind a paywall, Volkswagen said it doesn’t affect range.

Volkswagen-EV-pay-extra
Volkswagen ID.3 (left) and ID.4 (right)

Volkswagen isn’t the first, and likely not the last, to make drivers pay for their vehicles’ full potential. Remember when BMW tried to charge $18 a month for heated seats and other features in 2022?

Yeah, that didn’t go over so well. BMW has since dropped the subscription. Other brands, including Polestar, offer similar performance upgrades.

Volkswagen-EV-pay-extra
Volkswagen ID.3 GTX (Source: Volkswagen)

Will Volkswagen try to charge EV drivers in the US or other parts of Europe extra for performance? Given the backlash from BMW, it’s not likely. We’ll see how it goes over in the UK first.

The company is gearing up to launch a new series of entry-level EVs, starting with the ID.2 next year. An SUV version of the ID.2 is scheduled to launch shortly after, followed by the production version of the ID.1, which is set to arrive in 2027. Volkswagen is also considering a “mini Buzz” that could replace the Touran, but nothing has been confirmed.

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