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Trump is a climate-sceptic and vociferously supports fossil fuel extraction in the world’s biggest historical emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) at a time when global warming is at a record high
Donald Trump took oath as the 47th US President on Monday. (Reuters)
Environmentalists across countries were concerned about Donald Trump’s successful run for the US Presidency last year. But his latest announcement on the day of his inauguration to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement has confirmed their worst apprehensions, and delivered a major setback for global climate action.
The 2015 Paris Agreement is one of the most important UN climate action deals under which countries committed to limit global warming to below 2℃ above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5℃. The target is dire, especially after 2024 ended as the hottest year on record with the annual warming with 1.55℃. At the same time, the US became the world’s largest oil and gas producer globally, hitting new oil production highs under the Joe Biden administration.
“Trump returns to US political leadership at a time when climate impacts are escalating and the global green economy is becoming increasingly fragmented and adversarial. The chaos and uncertainty of his actions will hurt US decarbonisation as well as the obligations of the US to the rest of the world on climate cooperation,” said Avantika Goswami, Programme Manager, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, asserting that other nations need to take the lead and ensure that global climate action doesn’t slow down in this critical decade.
The US’s exit from the agreement cannot be immediate, though, as the formal process for withdrawal takes time.
The 47th President of the United States has been a climate change denier. He rode his electoral campaign on “drill, baby, drill” in the world’s biggest historical emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and exporter of polluting gas and oil, and continues to embrace fossil fuels. He is also keen on opening more areas for oil and gas exploration, even as their burning continues to fuel a record spike in global temperatures.
“We are all aware that in 2016 too, President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement (it was later reversed by next President Joe Biden),” said Manjeev Singh Puri, Distinguished Fellow, TERI. “The President and his nominee for Secretary of Energy have expressed a certain scepticism on wind power while being positive on drilling for hydrocarbons. At the COPs, for the past couple of years, there has been recognition of the need for an equitable and just transition in energy systems, but the importance of fossil fuels continues to be acknowledged.”
Trump’s second term begins just months after the UN Climate Summit COP29 in Baku, where developed countries, including the US, left the Global South vastly disappointed with a meagre climate finance commitment to contribute just $300 billion per year in climate finance to developing countries by 2035 to the broader annual goal of $1.3 trillion.
From his “Drill, Baby, Drill,” call during his campaign to declaring a ‘national energy emergency,” Trump has confirmed the worst fears of environmentalists the world over that his second term is bad news for global co-operation in climate action.
The decade is crucial for climate action. There is growing scientific evidence that climate change is causing an alarming increase in the frequency, intensity and scale of extreme weather events worldwide, and the devastation is more evident than ever. The developed countries are required to lead the transition away from fossil fuels as agreed to as COP28 and tripling of renewable energy.
“The impact of the new US administration is likely to be felt not so much in the area of private investments in renewable and clean energy space as on global resource flows for financing clean energy transition. The forces of competitive trade actions in the name of climate may get reinforced,” said RR Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI.
Trump’s latest announcement signals uncertain times for global climate action, and has serious consequences for developing countries, which have contributed the least to global emissions, but continue to bear the brunt of intensifying floods, rising seas, and crippling droughts.
“Domestically, he prioritises short-term economic gains for fossil fuel industries over the health and well-being of American communities, especially those already burdened by increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters such as wildfires and storms. Globally, it undermines the collective fight against climate change at a time when unity and urgency are more critical than ever,” said Harjeet Singh, Climate Activist and Founding Director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation.
There are also concerns over Trump’s potential repeal of major provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which may lead to a spike in pollution levels. The IRA signed by the former Joe Biden administration in August 2022 had targeted at least a 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 through a slew of measures to promote clean energy, clean vehicles, and manufacturing.
