As supporters of the Democratic Party express their disappointment on social media and the media investigates “who is to blame” for the Kamala Harris debacle, Donald Trump is preparing for his big return to the political scene as the President of the USA.
The controversial businessman and multi-millionaire once again won the majority vote by relying on his distinctive “people’s” approach and openly conservative, anti-globalist views. His vision promises an America that will once again be “the most powerful nation in the world”, and while some look forward to a return to its old glory, for others it represents a dangerous step backwards. In any case, the days until the inauguration are quickly counted, and the eyes of the whole world are fixed on Donald Trump and his plan for the American future.
There is no doubt that the next four years will be interesting, just as the elections themselves were, but let’s turn now to the issue of climate change and what the return of the Republicans will mean for the future of the planet.
Climatologists warn that Trump’s policy favors fossil fuels and diminishes the importance of environmental regulations, and that as such it represents a serious challenge for the global fight against climate change.
His first mandate will be remembered for the withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris climate agreement and the repeal of hundreds of regulations for environmental protection, and he announced the same for this mandate. There are also fears that the US will reduce its investment in innovation and clean energy, as the president-elect is known for his skepticism towards the scientific consensus on climate change.
It is clear that Trump is not giving up on his anti-climate views, because even during the four-year break, nothing convinced him of the seriousness of climate change, which he repeatedly characterized as a “hoax” of globalists.
That is why many climatologists and political scientists see Trump’s victory as a disaster in the announcement, at least when it comes to the climate crisis, but perhaps they were not entirely fair to this Republican when they came to this terrifying conclusion.
In order to get a sense of what the next four years will look like in the USA, we have to look back at his mandate from 2017 to 2021 and we immediately notice that there was no climatic cataclysm as was announced. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions have declined – partly as a result of the shift from coal to natural gas and renewables, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that it is clear that his first term did not lead the world to a state of climate disaster, there is no reason to panic until we see how things will really play out after he takes the chair.
After all, even though the other side is vocal about fighting climate change, we can’t say that Ms. Harris’s campaign has remained consistent with these principles. Numerous public figures took turns behind the podium selflessly supporting the “blues”, while outside they were driving their private planes, which, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in just two hours release the amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of the average person!
And that’s why – let’s not rush to conclusions, maybe Trump will pleasantly surprise us all and, in addition to the healthy society that most Americans hope for, will also leave behind a healthy planet.
Milena Maglovski
Source: energetskiportal.rs
