HOUSTON — A potent combo of MAGA policy and global energy demand is bringing a harsh reality check to climate change efforts, Axios' Ben Geman writes.

• Why it matters: Powerful execs gathered here for the marquee U.S. energy conference are declaring a new realism — even as temperatures keep shattering records.

"Energy realism is taking center stage," Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, head of UAE state energy giant Adnoc, said today in remarks at CERAWeek by S&P Global.

• "We need every energy option available. We need it all," he said, citing oil, gas, nuclear and renewables.

BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink — once a leading Wall Street advocate for net-zero emissions goals — told the audience: "Across the board, we have to think about power and energy in a pragmatic way."

• American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers told Axios: "An emerging theme that I've seen already is kind of: We're back to energy pragmatism."

🔭 The big picture: Comments here from U.S. and global execs distill what's been building in C-suites and across governments.

• The rapid spread of zero-carbon energy is still too slow for net-zero emissions aims. And the willingness to absorb the political and economic costs of a faster transition is waning.

🔬 Zoom in: A new Bain & Co. survey of hundreds of executives finds that just 32% expect the world to hit net-zero emissions in 2050, down from 50% in prior surveys.

• There's no single reason for the rethink. But several forces are at work, including ...

🇺🇸 1. The U.S. political pivot, with Trump 2.0 officials reversing Biden-era policies and abandoning multilateral climate efforts.

• Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared that global warming needs to be knocked down on the priority list.
• "The previous administration's policy was focused myopically on climate change, with people as simply collateral damage," he said in his conference-opening speech.

🇪🇺 2. Even in the EU, where climate has long been a bigger priority, nations are recalibrating tradeoffs between green goals and industrial competitiveness.

• Recent moves include giving automakers more flexibility on emissions and easing rules on corporate emissions reporting.

💻 3. AI and other new technologies are pushing up electricity demand, with tech companies seeking energy of all sorts.

• Fink described his conversations with "hyperscalers" — large-scale cloud service providers offering data and computing services.
• "About four years ago, they would say: 'If we're building a data center, it must be with renewables,'" Fink said. "About two years ago, they said: 'We prefer renewables.' And today, they care about power."

📈 4. Coal, oil and natural gas use keep rising in developing nations as people aspire to higher living standards.

The bottom line: Climate and clean tech remain big themes at CERAWeek. But the vibe has shifted.

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