Excerpt: A blistering rollback of climate policies led by the US in 2025 with knock-on effects in Europe and other western economies has heightened concerns about rising greenhouse gases, even as a clean energy boom takes hold.

Climate regulations have been under attack since the first day of Donald Trump's return to the White House, amid the increasing power of populist parties in Europe and economic pressures across the world.

The US led the way with cuts to regulations, incentives and jobs this year, in turn putting pressure on the EU to weaken flagship climate rules and prompting Canada to put policies in place which will boost oil and gas production in the face of trade pressures from the Trump administration.

Many other countries also took their cue to put in place weak climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which were required by the UN under the landmark Paris agreement to curb global warming.

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Nick Mabey, a founder director of green think-tank E3G, said the rollback was largely confined to Europe and North America, and developing economies were still making the shift to cleaner energy sources as they grew.

But a combination of "distracted leaders" grappling with issues from the Ukraine war to US trade tariffs had fuelled "culture wars" and meant climate action had fallen down the policy agenda, he said. This had left business leaders confused about planning for the risks of global warming.

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Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director with the climate and energy programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said US climate policy retreat had been much worse and much faster in the second Trump administration "than anyone may have expected".

The timeline of climate policy setbacks over the year shows the pace set by Trump. …

January: goodbye to the Paris agreement and IRA

February: climate science and aid funding cuts

April: US Treasury secretary pressures World Bank

May: US scales back coal use rules

July: EPA greenhouse gas rules rescinded

August: US solar and wind pushback

September: US boosts new fossil fuel projects

November: EU struggles to agree climate target

December: EU backtracks on electric car sales