Donald Trump’s projected return to power in the US could mean ‘all bets are off’ in America’s fight against climate change.
During his first term in office, Mr Trump described climate change as a “hoax” and “one of the great scams of all time”.
He also withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, which binds countries to an agreement to “limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
Speaking to Moncrieff ahead of the election, environmental expert John Gibbons said the fear is Mr Trump will try again.
“The wheels of international climate diplomacy, they grind slowly and it actually took them until almost the end of his term to actually withdraw the US,” he said.
“So, Joe Biden on his first day in office in January 2021 reversed that decision.
“Effectively, Trump’s attempt to withdraw them from the accord failed.”
In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2019
Mr Gibbons noted that a second Trump will not prevent America from reducing its carbon footprint – as states, cities and even local councils all have a role to play in transitioning to net zero.
Despite this, any ambivalence or even hostility to climate action will make it more difficult.
For example, California, economically speaking, the biggest US state, announced [in 2017] that it was going its own way - separate to the Trump Administration,” Mr Gibbons said.
“So, there are certain buffers but I think the critical thing to understand here and keep in mind is that the climate threat is a global threat and climate action has to happen at a global scale.
“Therefore, when the world’s most powerful economy and, arguably, the thought leader for the world opts out, basically, all bets are off.”
Global leadership
Scientists have warned that the planet is currently on track for “really quite catastrophic” climate change and Mr Gibbons said a lack of American leadership will make this more likely.
“It is important to say that it’s not like we’re winning with America in,” he said.
“We’re way, way behind already.
“We have these annual climate jamborees called the COP conferences - we have another one coming up shortly - but probably the only one that actually moved the needle on climate was the Paris conference in 2015.
“We got the Paris Agreement arising from that where all the countries of the earth put forward their non-binding proposals on how to take action on climate change.”
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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2019
Mr Gibbons described the Republican Party as a “death cult” that is in the “pocket of the fossil fuel industry”.
“What Trump is offering is to fail quickly and in a situation like this when failure is irreversible, then failing slowly … I would take it over failing quickly.
“The dump truck is approaching the cliff and Trump is trying to loosen the handbrake.”
Mr Trump looks set to be inaugurated for his second term on January 20th, 2025.
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Main image: Split of an iceberg and Donald Trump. Pictures by: Alamy.com
