The election of Donald Trump as President by our southern neighbours will have dire consequences for all citizens of this planet.
Mr Trump has refused to acknowledge the warnings of 98% of the world’s climate scientists and has continually denied the effects of global warming. He has gone so far as to label climate change a “hoax perpetrated by China to affect US business”. Global scientists have nothing financial to gain by feeding us false information on the effects of continued use of fossil fuels. Mr Trump, however has everything to gain by denying such reports. He has pledged to revive the coal industry (the largest producer of greenhouse gas) to relax restrictions on polluters and expand exploration of fossil fuels. The large corporations who make billions from these industries have much to gain from these actions and continue to fund climate change denial.
If Mr. Trump pulls America out of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement as he has said he will, the accord will likely fail and the fight against climate change will be set back so drastically that we may not have time to recover. The UN has already warned that efforts against emissions must be stepped up even more than already agreed upon to limit severe human and environmental tragedy. Emissions must be reduced an additional 15-17 billion tons by 2030 (less than 15 years away)to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
As the second largest emitter of carbon in the world, the US must be on side. China, as the largest emitter, has committed to capping coal use and moving to non-fossil energy.
Trump has the right to “Make America Great Again” but not at the expense of all humanity!
Sue Braiden