{"id":16761,"date":"2025-01-10T10:58:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T10:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/?p=16761"},"modified":"2025-04-17T11:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T11:12:22","slug":"10-reasons-why-donald-trump-cant-stop-global-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/2025\/01\/10-reasons-why-donald-trump-cant-stop-global-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"10 reasons why Donald Trump can\u2019t stop global climate\u00a0action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you care about saving Earth from catastrophe, you might be feeling a little down about the re-election of Donald Trump as United States president. Undeniably, his return to the White House is a real setback for climate action.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is a climate change denier<\/a> who has promised to increase fossil fuel production<\/a> and withdraw the US<\/a> from the Paris climate deal, among other worrying pledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But beyond Trump and his circle, there remains deep concern about climate change, especially among younger people<\/a>. Support for climate policy remains high in the US<\/a> and around the world. And studies based on data from 60,000 people<\/a> in more than 60 countries suggest individuals\u2019 concern about climate change is widely underestimated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[Editor\u2019s note: “The average temperature in 2024 was 1.6C above preindustrial levels, data from the EU\u2019s Copernicus Climate Change Service<\/a>\u00a0(C3S) shows. That is a jump of 0.1C from 2023, which was also a record hot year and represents levels of heat never experienced by modern humans\u201d. (Guardian<\/a>, January 10 2024) ‘We’re playing with fire’ Financial Times . ]<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So now is a good time to remember that efforts to tackle the climate crisis \u2013 both in Australia and globally \u2013 are much bigger than one man. Here are ten reasons to remain hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"man
Beyond Trump and his circle, there remains deep concern about climate change around the world. HAYOUNG JEON\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. The global clean energy transition can\u2019t be halted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The global shift to clean energy is accelerating, and Trump can\u2019t stop it. Investment in clean energy has overtaken fossil fuels<\/a>, and will be nearly double investment in coal, oil and gas in 2024<\/a>. This is a historic mega-trend and will continue with or without American leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Clean energy momentum is likely to continue in the US<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Much of the Biden-era spending on clean energy industries went to Republican states and Congressional districts<\/a>. New factories for batteries and electric vehicles<\/a> will still go ahead under the Trump administration. After all, entrepreneur Elon Musk \u2013 who is expected to join the Trump administration<\/a> \u2013 makes electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Trump\u2019s financial backers are receiving subsidies for clean energy manufacturing<\/a> and 18 Republican Congress members have gone on record to oppose cuts to clean energy tax credits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"solar
The clean energy shift will continue in the US. Piictured: a solar panel array floats on a water storage pond in New Jersey. Seth Wenig\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. The US still wants to beat China<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is bipartisan concern in Washington<\/a> about the US losing a technological edge to Beijing. China currently dominates global production<\/a> of electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. So internal pressure in the US to counter China\u2019s manufacturing might<\/a> will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The federal government is not everything in the US<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Trump was last in power, he withdrew the US from some climate commitments, such as the Paris Agreement. But many state and local governments powered ahead with climate policy, and that will happen this time around, too. For example, California \u2013 the world\u2019s fifth largest economy \u2013 plans to eliminate its greenhouse gas footprint by 2045<\/a>. Even Texas, a Republican heartland, is leading a shift toward wind and solar power<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The US climate movement will be more energised than ever<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During Trump\u2019s first presidency, the US climate movement developed policy proposals for a \u201cGreen New Deal<\/a>\u201d. Many of these proposals were later implemented by the Biden administration. Initial reactions<\/a> to Trump\u2019s re-election suggest we can expect similar policy advocacy this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
Efforts to tackle the climate crisis are much bigger than one man in the White House. Kevin Wolf\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Global climate cooperation is bigger than Trump<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If Trump makes good on his promise to leave the Paris Agreement (again), he will only be leaving the room where the world\u2019s future is being shaped<\/a>. The US has walked away from global climate agreements before \u2013 for example, refusing to join the Kyoto Protocol<\/a> in 2001. But other nations rallied for global action, and will do so again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. The rules-based global order will remain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a nation walks away from rules that have been agreed after decades of negotiation<\/a>, responsible countries must work together to bolster global cooperation. This applies to trade and security \u2013 and climate is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As its Foreign Minister Penny Wong recently explained<\/a>, Australia, as a middle power on the world stage, wants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

a world where disputes are resolved by engagement, negotiation and by reference to rules [and] norms [\u2026] We don\u2019t want a world in which disputes are resolved by power alone.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

8. Australian diplomacy matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Australia is seeking to co-host the United Nations climate talks with Pacific island countries in 2026, and is emerging as the favourite<\/a>. Hosting the conference, known as COP31, would be a chance for Australia to help broker a new era of international climate action, even if the US opts out under Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting the talks would also help cement Australia\u2019s place in the Pacific and assist our Pacific neighbours to deal with the climate threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Co-hosting COP31 would help assist our Pacific neighbours to deal with the climate threat. Mick Tsikas\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. Australia\u2019s clean energy shift is accelerating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About 40% of Australia\u2019s main national electricity grid is powered<\/a> by renewables<\/a> and this is set to rise to 80% by 2030. Some states are surging ahead \u2013 for example, South Australia is aiming for 100% renewables by 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australians love clean energy at home, too. One in three households have rooftop solar installed, making us a world-leader<\/a> in the technology\u2019s uptake. Trump\u2019s occupation of the Oval Office cannot stop this momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Trump cannot change the science of climate change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The science is clear \u2013 burning coal, oil and gas fuels climate change and increases the risk of disasters<\/a> that are harming communities right now. In Australia, we need look no further than the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20 and unprecedented Lismore floods in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the damage is happening across the globe. In October, twin hurricanes in the US \u2013 made stronger by the warming ocean<\/a> \u2013 left a damage bill of more than US$100 billion<\/a>. And hundreds of people died when a year\u2019s worth of rain<\/a> fell in one day in Spain last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people
The devastating floods in Spain remind us that climate change has arrived. ANA ESCOBAR\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On gloomy days \u2013 like, say, the election of a climate denier to the White House \u2013 it might feel humanity won\u2019t rise to Earth\u2019s biggest existential challenge. But there are many reasons for hope. The vast majority of us support policies to tackle climate change, and in many cases, the momentum is virtually unstoppable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First published by The Conversation <\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Trump can\u2019t derail global climate action: Global transition to clean energy is now a “historic megatrend\u201d that won\u2019t be changed by a single US president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":439,"featured_media":16578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[678],"class_list":["post-16761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","tag-us-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/439"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}