David G. Victor

The really big effect of what Trump has done is to send a message to the rest of the world that the United States is not credible on climate change. The rest of the world is not going to know if we’re serious because we keep swinging back and forth. Over the past 50 years, the effectiveness in creating international deals came from U.S. leadership. And now nobody knows if we’re going to do that anymore.

[On carbon border adjustments and bi and trilateral trade deals] That’s exactly the kind of strategy that, I think, will end up breaking the logjam on climate.

[On shifts in energy demand related to COVID-19] This is unprecedented, so we simply don't have good models that tell us what happens.

[On COVID-19 and renewable energy investments] Pre-pandemic, market forces were pointing in the direction of substantial new investments in renewables. But the pandemic has put a big shock into this.

[On COVID-19 and oil demand] If the economy recovers, it is highly likely that oil is going to recover to where it was before.

[On coronavirus's effects on international cooperation] What's happening is that all countries have turned inward. The political support in most countries for extensive international engagement has been fraying. That's been going on for a long time, because of the nature of international cooperation and the fact that it's not delivered benefits back to populations widely.