'Drill, baby, drill': What Trump’s re-election could mean for our climate
During the campaign Donald Trump described climate change as “one of the great scams of all time” and a “hoax”.
He appears to want to row back spending on green energy, remove incentives on electric cars and unleash a new wave of drilling for new oil and gas.
So what will his re-election mean for the environment?During Trump's last term, he removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global warming no higher than 1.5 degrees above pre industrial levels.
He also attempted to reverse around 100 environmental bills, but was largely stymied by the courts.
This time he faces fewer constraints - so in many ways he will be unleashed.
One of outgoing President Joe Biden’s biggest initiatives was the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. This included $369bn (£287bn) of subsidies to stimulate green technologies and clean energy.
The policy, while criticised for being expensive, has cemented America’s position as a world leader in the field.
During the campaign, Trump promised to “terminate” the Inflation Reduction Act and “rescind all unspent funds”.
Instead, he favours opening up Alaska’s Arctic to drilling and ending a pause on exports of liquified natural gas to “cut energy bills in half within 12 months of taking office”.
With the Republicans set to take control of the House of Representatives and US Senate, he will have the power to do this.
He may though face resistance from some Republican colleagues who are in states which have benefitted from new clean energy jobs.
His victory has rattled climate change experts.
Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare said: “The election of a climate denier to the US Presidency is extremely dangerous for the world. We are already seeing extreme damages, loss of life around the globe due to human induced warming 1.3°C."
Mr Hare said that efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C will be damaged if Trump follows through on his policy promises, which include a threat to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement.
"The prospects of keeping open the 1.5C goal will ultimately hinge on the level of action taken by all other countries in the next few years," he added. "And also on what the US does following the Trump presidency’s conclusion.”
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On Monday world leaders will meet at the COP29 climate conference in Baku to discuss how to finance the world’s push to halt climate change and adapt to live with its impact.
Whilst Trump won’t officially be in office by then, his appointment will inevitably dominate discussions behind the scenes.
Not only is America the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases (12-15% of global emissions), it sets the tone for others actions.
If the White House no longer leads on climate, what incentive is there for others like China, India and Brazil to make political choices which are good for the planet but economically expensive domestically?
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