Speakers from law, engineering and technology converged at the Petrochemical & Refining Conference (PRC) Europe 2026 to debate the pace, economics and politics of the energy transition. One session, titled “From Green Hype to Reality: The Demand Challenge” was moderated by Marcel Hergert, Senior Business Analyst, Global Business Steering Chemical Catalysts at BASF and featured Bracewell’s Scott Segal.
While the Trump administration has moved aggressively to roll back climate regulations, including withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, unwinding Inflation Reduction Act incentives and accelerating fossil fuel permitting, Segal argued that American clean energy investment has not collapsed.
“The underlying economics of renewables, for both power production and as a motor fuel, are largely policy independent,” Segal said, as quoted by Hydrocarbon Processing. He cited flat power sector demand for 21 years now reversing sharply, driven by the growth of data centers, as evidence that market fundamentals are shaping investment as much as executive orders.
