The outcome of the US election is a tragedy for those suffering from floods and drought around the world. It will have disastrous consequences for the natural environment and efforts to stem the relentless rise in global warming sea and land temperatures.
Investors in oil and gas and the companies that produce these commodities will probably be leaping for joy right now with Trump’s unassailable victory in the American presidential election, but those who want to protect the environment and America’s national parks must feel sick.
The BBC reports: “ With world leaders meeting next week for the latest UN climate talks, COP29 the Trump victory will be seen as a huge roadblock to progress in both cutting emissions and raising cash for developing countries”.
If the last time Trump took the presidency is anything to go by, masses of environmental rules will be rolled back. At least one news agency has reported that Trump will have a whole range of ‘Executive Orders’ ready to sign as soon as he is sworn in as President in January. When Trump took power in January 2017, his Executive Orders rolled back more than 100 environmental rules. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency weakened Obama-era limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and from cars and trucks; removed protections from more than half the nation’s wetlands; and withdrew the legal justification for restricting mercury emissions from power plants. The US Department of the Interior, which controls national parks, was ordered to open up more land for oil and gas leasing by limiting wildlife protection and weakening environmental requirements for projects.
Land and sea temperatures have been rising relentlessly over the last decade, causing extreme floods and droughts across the globe, but the US Presidency will not be concerning itself with global warming, nor will it be concerning itself with the USA being the second biggest emitter of CO2 in the world. The next four years are not going to be good for nature, the environment and, worse still, efforts to tackle climate change! In 2023, the planet was at its hottest ever. How much worse would it be in four years’ time?
The outcome of the presidential election was very similar to that of Brexit where the UK voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48%. A 4% margin. With only 2 states to declare, Trump got 50.9% of the vote and Harris 47.6%. A 3.3% margin. (Other candidates 1.5%). Many Brexit voters here in the UK now regret their decision. Will that be the case in the USA?
Campaign for a Better Environment 