US ELECTIONS: Republicans win Senate majority, raising uncertainty over fate of US climate law

Republicans on Nov. 6 won a majority in the US Senate, potentially introducing further uncertainty for the nation's energy sector.

The AP projects Republican challengers to beat Democratic incumbents in Ohio and West Virginia and retain a seat in Texas.

Should Republicans secure a trifecta, full government control would allow Senate Republicans to pursue budget reconciliation – a procedural tool to avoid the chamber's 60-vote threshold – to address Trump-era tax cuts set to expire in 2025.

Full control could also place federal tax incentives in Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act at risk, according to industry experts. Trump referred to the historic energy and climate legislation as the "green new scam" on the campaign trail and pledged to end the law's subsidies for clean energy and electric vehicle manufacturing.

However, a number of House Republicans have already expressed public opposition to wholesale repeal of the law's clean energy subsidies, indicating full repeal is unlikely in the next Congress.