Donald Trump's victory at the ballot box has been spectacular. His efforts to wreck global climate diplomacy and derail clean energy investment will prove much less so, despite his "drill, baby, drill" rhetoric.
The world is very different compared with early 2017. When he started his first term as US president, Trump swiftly set to work gutting environmental policies and beginning the process of exiting the United Nations Paris Agreement, the world's main climate pact. It sent a chill through the world of climate diplomacy and set back US green energy investment.
Trump is all fired up to swing his climate wrecking ball once more. But this time it is likely to prove less damaging. Here's why.
First, global climate action - albeit still not ambitious enough - is much more mainstream.
The world is hotter and the weather more supercharged than during Trump's first term, as the folks in his home state of Florida can testify after back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton struck in September and October. The year 2024 is set to be the hottest on record, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
"The US election result is a setback for global climate action, but the Paris Agreement has proven resilient and is stronger than any single country's policies," said Ms Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation and an architect of the Paris Agreement.
Second, clean energy is booming.
"Those investing in clean energy are already enjoying huge wins in terms of jobs and wealth, and cheaper, more secure energy," said UN climate chief Simon Stiell, ahead of the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov 11 to 22. "This is because the global energy transition is inevitable and gathering pace, making it among the greatest economic opportunities of our age."
This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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