When President Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Acciment and rolled back US climate policies, much of the Western world chastised him for ignoring climate change. Now the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom are walking back their own environmental regulations.

The European Union has proposed relaxing its landmark carbon-pricing system and allowing automakers to sell gasoline-burning cars for longer. The UK appears poised to allow new oil production in the North Sea after banning exploratory drilling last year and is reviewing targets for electric vehicle sales.

The United States dismantled an unpopular carbon tax and is backing new oil-and-gas infrastructure. Europe's slow-walking of climate measures is notable because the continent has long been at the vanguard of climate action, but its aggressive transition plans are running up against concerns that policies are stifling industry by pushing up energy prices.

"The Green Deal had been a central focus of the EU," said Daniel Yergin, a veteran energy historian and vice chairman of S&P Global. "Now, for the EU, the focus is obviously on security and on being economically competitive."

An April report by the European Environment Agency said achieving the EU minimum target of 42.5% renewable energy by 2030 will require doubling the average renewable project deployment rate when compared with the past decade.