Over the past three years, the world has not progressed in reducing carbon emissions as much as we would have hoped. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the United States (among other countries) promised to hold global warming to a rise of about 1.5 degrees Celsius, certainly below 2 degrees. However, over the past few years our progress towards minimizing carbon emissions and global warming has been rather stagnant — we aren’t doing enough to reverse climate change. On Thursday, a report from the Climate Action Tracker was published, indicating that we need to do much more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And while electric vehicles and clean energy investments have made large advances in the past few years, funding for fossil fuel projects is still at a record high. With our climate change situation not looking any more hopeful than in 2021, our goal of 1.5 degrees is looking incredibly unrealistic.
And so what will Donald Trump do to alleviate the climate crisis once he enters office? In short, nothing. But he WILL take steps to contradict the climate and energy acts put in place. Having called climate change a “scam,” Trump intends to reduce laws alleviating greenhouse gas emissions and supporting clean energy. Additionally, in recent years the U.S. has put the Inflation Reduction Act into place, which grants hundreds of billions of dollars to clean energy technologies. Donald Trump has expressed enthusiasm in how he will “kill” this act.
Upon entering office in 2016, Trump ripped out more than 100 environmental regulations, and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. It can very definitively be predicted that Trump will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord again, after Biden reentered during his term. Additionally, Trump’s support of increased oil drilling and more burning of gas would add up to four billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — likely tipping us farther away from being able to combat climate change.
It is also important to note that Trump’s environmental policies will have an economic effect as well. According to Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University, “If Trump blows up Biden’s climate change regime, and we don’t get global climate under control, the prospect of a robust economic future with growth and economic opportunity for everyone — all of that shrivels away and becomes less and less likely.”
Yet even with a Republican-driven Congress and Cabinet, there will be some limitations to the regulations Trump can slash. Many states have enacted their own clean energy policies, and even in Republican states there are a lot of clean manufacturing jobs that citizens wish to protect. Additionally, about 80% of the money from the Inflation Reduction Act has gone towards Republican congressional districts — possibly influencing Republican Congresspeople to limit their support of extremely radical environmental policies. While the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature increase may not be feasible anymore, we shouldn’t give up hope; we can still enact valuable clean energy legislation at local and state levels.
https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/1277/CAT_2024-11-14_GlobalUpdate_COP29.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/climate/trump-climate-change.html
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-trump-election-win-could-add-4bn-tonnes-to-us-emissions-by-2030/
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/nx-s1-5187039/trump-lee-zeldin-epa-environment
15 comments:
As someone who plans to major in environmental science, as well as a sane human being who understands the gravity of climate change, the looming effects of Trump's presidency are incredibly devastating and concerning. I've recently seen in different articles that 2024 is projected to surpass 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels (makes sense considering this year's summer was the hottest summer on record), marking a fairly large turning point for what climate action will have to look like in the future. While I do agree that there are things that can be done, it's hard to sugarcoat the situation. Especially when looking at New York's Climate Clock, which states that there are 4 years and 243 days, as of now, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, which happens to be a little more than the length of Trump's presidency... the future is definitely scary.
It’s really scary to think about what the state of global warming and climate change will look like in four years. I remember seeing a video about the climate clock, which counts down how much time we have left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. Knowing it’s now at only 4–5 years and that we’ve elected someone who doesn’t seem to care about or even acknowledge the issue is truly alarming. Even if you don’t fully believe in the science behind climate change, it’s hard to deny that summers are getting hotter and winters more extreme. I can only hope that another world leader steps up and convinces Trump to take action, because I don’t see him addressing this crisis on his own.
I’m worried about Trump spreading this misinformation to the public, especially his supporters. People more often than not listen to their leaders without thinking for themselves, and it’s really easy to succumb to the preachings of someone you admire so much. And in this case, climate change quite literally affects everyone who is alive on this planet, and so believing it is not a real issue is so detrimental to everyone everywhere. Climate change is not just a national issue, but a global one, and mitigating it requires the collaboration of most if not all countries, especially the powerful ones (hence the reason for the Paris Agreement). Let’s be real, Trump is just looking out for himself and his own agenda, though the economic consequences of ignoring climate change is quite counterintuitive to his goals. And it’s frustrating that Trump and the older generation is not even going to have to deal with the effects, so he can do what he thinks is right and it messes with the future state of the world that he won’t even have to see. The mindset of “not my problem”/“ignorance is bliss” is not selfless at all, but a good leader should be. Now, the fate of the planet is on the shoulders of the young and so we should want to do something about it.
It still astounds me that some people don't believe climate change is real. It astounds me even more that our president could be elected while holding such absurd beliefs. I understand that it is not generally the conservative position to be all for clean air and natural energy sources, however, flat out denial that it exists is unforgiveable ignorance. As somebody from the Bay Area, an area characterized by a moderate climate, I have noticed drastic changes in the extremities of both summer and winter, with hotter summers and rainier colder winters than I have experienced before. It is even more disappointing that Trump has been elected for such a crucial period. It is truly crunch time in trying to slow and hopefully stop climate change, and I worry so much of the important work that has been done over the last decade or so could be thrown by the wayside.
It's extremely nerve-racking, especially as a person apart of a younger, upcoming generation, to watch the effects of climate change not only have a significant, negative impact on our way of living but also the overall stance of the world in the future. It interests me how many people don't believe in climate change, or Trump calling it a "scam", as it is literally taking place in front of our eyes. Extreme weather conditions - recent Hurricane Milton and the bomb cyclone circulating on the west coast - , hotter summers, and sea levels rising are just a few of the things that should indicate an extreme climate crisis in our society, but it still goes unnoticed or not cared for by some people. Trump has mentioned that rising sea levels "creates more oceanfront property." Clearly, he doesn't understand the severity and consequences of his actions of his plans to continuously drill oil to follow his fracking agenda. Resulting to his climate plans and complete ignorance on the topic it'll become a problem for rising generations, as we are slowly beginning to run out of time to save our planet.
This is truly disheartening and paints a bleak picture of our efforts to combat climate change. It’s saddening to see how little progress has been made in reducing carbon emissions, ESPECIALLY with the Paris Agreement’s goals slipping away. This continued funding of fossil fuel projects, coupled with policies that undermine clean energy initiatives, leaves me feeling worried and kind of hopeless. In regards to the climate, our future looks bleak. Events like the "bomb cyclone" show that the impacts of climate change are already here, and the thought of further environmental rollbacks under Trump’s policies makes this even more concerning.
In a time where we now, more than ever, have the technological advancements to create cutting-edge solutions and adopt sustainable practices to combat climate change, it is saddening that we continue to delay serious action. The issue is only intensifying whether we are ready for it to or not. What upsets me most is the selfish intentions behind decisions, such as the ones Donald Trump has supported. Trump is making choices that will impact the whole world but will only "benefit" America. I understand that as President it is his job to prioritize our country, but he fails to consider all the global consequences.
In addition, people claiming climate change is not real, or as Trump said, it is a "scam", is especially concerning. These are adults, that are allowed to vote and make decisions for the whole country. It says a lot about the spread of misinformation and, in some cases, the lack of proper education.
I find it astonishing that President Trump believes climate change to be a "scam," and the fact that many of his followers believe this misinformation. I constantly am coming across videos of ice caps melting, polar bears sinking into melting ice, etc. on social media, and with video proof like this available for all to access on the internet, the fact that President Trump is trying to overturn climate change-related policies is so hard to understand. At some point people need to realize that Democrats orchestrating hurricanes to wipe out Republicans isn't the cause of mass hurrianes on the east coast, it's climate change. But even if Trump is successful in withdrawing from the Paris Agreement once again, I feel that states and local communities should still push for policies that reduce emissions. It's also worth noting that major companies and investors are increasingly moving toward sustainability, for a 2023 report from the Global Impact Investing Network revealed that investments in clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and other green industries reached record levels, demonstrating that businesses and investors understand the importance of tackling climate change even if Trump may never.
It's pretty crazy to see a president addressing a very strong and obvious looming problem as something to brush off. There is a ton of evidence already to prove that global warming is a real thing. Even with Biden and other programs that tried to prevent or lessen the effects of climate change, it's still happening regardless. Trump, especially not caring about this problem will only worsen the problem. We've had some of the hottest days recorded, not just here but also in the whole world. We'll have to see how bad it truly gets as Trump's term starts.
"Likely to worsen"... I think I'd bet on it worsening. It's crazy that we can ignore a problem that is so pertinent and visually and statistically obvious. The amount of hurricanes is not normal, and yet these are the same people that attack the Biden administration for not adequately taking care of the hurricane problem. I think it's almost funny that they are the ones so adamant about this when it is climate worsening that will result in the coasts entirely disappearing and the weather becoming too hot/dry to have sufficient agriculture when their rural constituents will be most affected by this.
Obviously, as what the scientists say are all TRUE; our nation, and the world at large has lacked in progress to successfully move forward in reducing carbon emissions. It is obvious, as of his last term, and his plans for the current term, that he WILL worsen the situation. Even though Elon Musk his close confidant- heads an electric car company, he still doesn't want to incentivize e-vehicles like the Biden administration promised and did do so. Even though the nation scorned at him when he withdrew from the 2016 Paris accords, he wants to withdraw again. His unwavering support for destructive policies such as drilling, and the extraction of fossil fuels is undeniable. All these above things, taken at a 150% of what they are now, and minus the protections made within the Biden administration, our country will literally and figuratively be regressing, and "on fire", if you will.
I'm shocked and infuriated that people can just ignore the clear effects of climate change that's been an issue for over a century or call it taboo. There is literally a clock in New York City spanning 8 feet long, counting down the seconds until climate change is essentially irreversible for humans to fix, and we are already down to around 4 more years. I'm terrified as to what will happen to our planet for future generations if we don't do something significantly impactful to tackle this issue before it's too late. And now our president is planning to call off some of the only significant action currently being taken with no intent of replacing it?? As someone who deeply cares about the environment, I cannot fathom how upsetting and detrimental this truly is.
I find it concerning and shocking that people can believe that climate change is "fake", with evidence that is literally in their own backyard. Even more shocking, our future president is not only not concerned with the matter, but is attempting to "kill" the Inflation Reduction Act, which is set to only benefit our country with clean energy technologies. The results of climate changes are very real, as seen by the bomb cyclone, and are unfortunately only going to increase dramatically with time. For people to be in denial is to deny future generations the chance to thrive in the world. Fossil fuel emissions are only increasing by every decade, and these next few years are so crucial, and it is baffling that the new face of this country to be so against it and call it a "scam".
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