UN Climate Change Conference
Analysis: Trump election is likely to increase global warming
Will the re-election of Donald Trump stifle the last hope for international climate goals? Many people are asking themselves this question at the climate summit. Now there is a calculation about the possible Trump effect.
According to a current analysis, the re-election of Donald Trump as the next US president could measurably increase global warming. This emerges from calculations by the Climate Action Tracker, which checks whether the climate policies of states are compatible with international climate protection goals.
Trump announced that he wanted to clear the way for more oil and gas drilling. According to the New York Times, he is also preparing to withdraw the USA from the Paris climate protection agreement.
Measurable Trump effect feared
The experts at the Climate Action Tracker calculated how much the US’s reversal of course could contribute to global warming and put the possible Trump effect at 0.04 degrees by the end of the century – but under the premise that only the US changes course and it there will be no imitators. The experts are based, for example, on the reversal of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introduced under Joe Biden – an enormous investment program with a climate focus.
The 0.04 degrees would be in addition to the 2.7 degrees that the world is currently heading for, according to the analysis – even if countries comply with all climate protection plans presented. This rate has not improved in the past three years, the authors write. This shows the gap between the reality of the climate crisis and how politics is dealing with it.
The Climate Action Tracker’s forecast is in the same range as a United Nations calculation, according to which the world is on a course between 2.6 and 3.1 degrees. According to climate researchers, significant parts of the earth would be uninhabitable in such a scenario.
At the beginning of the week, the current climate chief of the US government, John Podesta, complained that Trump as president wanted to initiate a sharp turnaround in climate protection. The Republican had already lowered climate and environmental protection standards and stopped a number of projects in his first term in office (2017-2021). On his initiative, the USA withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2020 – his successor Joe Biden reversed this.
UN report (UNEP) on probable global warming
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
