Trump 2.0 is not a fluke

What does the second coming of Donald Trump mean for climate-change action?

- SUNITA NARAIN

Here is a man who will take over as President of the United States (US), the world's single-largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and the second-highest annual contributor. He is an avowed climate sceptic – an out-and-out advocate for fossil fuels in a time of climate crisis. He has said he will, once sworn into office, ensure that energy prices are slashed; he will rescind green-energy plans; and wants industry to go back to the time of "drill baby drill" – essentially opening more federal lands to exploration for oil and natural gas and slashing regulatory controls on his country's fossil fuel industry.

But when I say this, we must note that even under the incumbent President, Joe Biden, the US has been the fossil-fuel emperor – producing more oil than any country has done before. It is the world's largest producer of oil and gas – outproducing even Russia by over 40 per cent. So, when Mr Trump says he will go back to fossils, we must understand just how bad this will be!

Mr Trump has also railed against the Biden administration's plans for renewable power and electric vehicles, calling them "industry-killing; job-killing; pro-China; and anti-America". All in all, he wants to go back to the business of the past, rejecting completely the idea that the green transition is necessary as the world stands on a precipice of impending disaster.