The responses to the climate question from both presidential candidates paints a stark picture of the short-term future of climate action globally.
By Marco Lopez
BELMOPAN, Mon. Sept. 16, 2024
One thing last Tuesday’s US Presidential Debate made clear was that neither a Harris nor Trump Administration would do much to address the global climate crisis.
Although a sort of hot topic question among pockets of America’s electorate, both presidential candidates fell short of saying how their administration would combat the issue. For the second time, Trump dodged the question entirely, pivoting on the bizarre as is his style.
Harris, for her part, in the same breath, said record federal subsidies were being pumped into clean energy – while oil and gas production under the Biden administration reached record highs.
Talk about a contradiction.
The Biden Administration has been unwilling to admit this fact up until this point. Under its watch, the US extracted more greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels despite signing the global pledge to transition away from coal, oil, and gas with 200 other nations at COP28.
The US, as a country, is the biggest historical source of greenhouse gases. That is to say, it’s responsible for addressing the fallout of the climate crisis is equally significant.
The outcome of this presidential race will determine whether this nation keeps to goals to limit temperature rise and support developing states – or revert to the Trumpian dystopia where climate change is a hoax – and “drill baby drill” is the order of the day.
While Harris, in her presentation said “we could actually deal with the issue” she offered no concrete details of how her administration would. She instead pivoted to the economy – the key issue for US voters this election – noting that jobs will be made available with the ramped-up rollout of wind and solar power energy.
Trump, for his part, remained his usual incoherent self on the topic. While he said he is a “big support” of solar energy, he complained about the size of the solar farms. He also became an overnight fan of electric vehicles after receiving an endorsement from Tesla’s Elon Musk, despite having railed against EVs in the past.
He has promised to take the US as far away from Biden’s climate agenda as possible. His pledge to “drill baby drill” likely sends shivers down the spins of climate scientists who continue to recommend a rapid deceleration and phasing out of fossil fuel emissions to avert climate fallout.
Well, Trump wants to allow oil drilling across millions of acres of Alaskan tundra, dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, and withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement – again!
On a balanced scale, the Trump administration would definitely contribute to crippling the global climate fight, but it’s not like Harris would do much to mobilize the world at the pace needed.
Either way, we’re on the red side of the spectrum regardless of who enters the White House come November 2024.
