Dhesigen Naidoo
Donald Trump’s comments during his 2024 campaign trail, together with his actions during his first presidency, suggest doom and gloom for the global climate agenda – and a severe retardation of climate action during his upcoming second term.
But new factors determine the global landscape compared to 2016, offering a more nuanced set of possibilities for climate action.
Trump announced the United States’ (US) withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2017. The official exit came in November 2020, just before the end of his first term. Although President Joe Biden’s administration soon reversed the departure, some damage was done. A second withdrawal could be devastating.
Trump also appointed climate change sceptics to key positions within the US administration and beyond. He picked Scott Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency head and nominated David Malpass – famous for denying the scientific consensus on the link between fossil fuels and global warming – as president of the World Bank. The bank is a key body expected to support an international movement to a lower carbon economy.
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