Trump's election victory has huge implications for fight against climate change

Washington, DC - Experts are warning that Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election signals a revival of his "drill, baby, drill" attitude, and risks another four years of inaction on climate change.

Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election could spell trouble for the climate movement.
Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election could spell trouble for the climate movement.  © AFP/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump's stunning win sent climate scientists and activists into panic mode, with the Republican promising to roll back measures taken by the Biden administration and push the pause button on climate targets.

During his first term, Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement and stalled US efforts to meet the targets it had agreed to in 2016.

Biden rejoined the agreement when he entered office, but Trump has vowed to leave it yet again once he's in the White House.

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Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects behind the Paris deal, called the election result "a real blow in the fight against climate crisis" in a post on X.

"Today, despite geopolitical challenges, strong economic momentum drives the global transition. I think and hope no other country will follow if the US withdraws from the Paris Agreement. They know the transition is in their own interest – for their security and economies," she added.

"A four year pause we can't afford"

Trump has vowed to roll back the climate policies of President Joe Biden's administration.
Trump has vowed to roll back the climate policies of President Joe Biden's administration.  © REUTERS

Trump used the slogan "drill, baby, drill" during the campaign, and has said that he would slow down the green energy transition and reverse some of Biden's policy initiatives.

Specifically, he vowed to "rescind all unspent funds" in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, a move that would hit US investments in tax credits and clean energy.

While such rules would likely face challenge and litigation, at the very least it runs the risk of stalling climate action in the US over the next four years.

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"With Trump's win, we now face, at best, a repeat of his last term's climate inaction – a four-year pause we simply can't afford in this critical decade," Johan Rockstrom, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research told AFP.

"With a climate skeptic back in the White House, the pressure on the world, and especially on EU leadership, to act will intensify enormously."

Cover photo: AFP/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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