Not a fluke!

The world should not be surprised by Donald Trump's actions as president of the U.S. Instead, it must move ahead to take steps to combat climate change

- SUNITA NARAIN

What does the second coming of Donald Trump mean for climate change action? Here is a man, who will take over as the president of the U.S., 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 and 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 U.S. 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 percent. So, when Trump says he will go back to fossils, we must understand just how bad this will be!