Donald Trump's election as the president of the United States is a blow to global climate justice, and his disregard for international agreements and refusal to provide climate finance will deepen the crisis, international policy experts said on Wednesday.
Sunita Narain, the director general of Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment, said Trump winning the White House race is a "big setback" for global climate efforts, especially if he rolls back critical domestic policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
She said the US has historically fallen short in global climate efforts, particularly on financing support for vulnerable countries, decarbonisation and financial commitments to the developing world, and Trump's presidency will make matters even worse.
"While President Joe Biden's administration showed stronger climate action domestically than internationally, our primary concern now is that Trump may roll back these critical domestic efforts, including the Inflation Reduction Act," she said.
"The IRA is crucial because the United States remains the single-largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and the second-largest emitter annually. It is also the world's top producer and exporter of oil and gas, generating around 13 million barrels daily. The IRA (and its role in achieving 50-per cent emissions reduction by 2030, below 2005 levels) served as a significant signal to the world that the US could lead on climate action," Narain said.
Rolling back the IRA and expanding oil production would be extremely harmful for international climate efforts, the climate policy expert said.
India's former environment minister Jairam Ramesh said Trump's comeback has made the future of the 2015 Paris Agreement "extremely shaky" and added that if the US were to withdraw from the treaty again, the consequences would be disastrous.
Trump, who has publicly called climate change a "hoax", withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement when he was the president.
Harjeet Singh, climate activist and Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said Trump's victory is a profound blow to global climate justice and an alarming escalation of climate risk for the world's most vulnerable communities.
Trump's push to ramp up fossil-fuel production, disregard for international agreements and refusal to provide climate finance will deepen the crisis, endangering lives and livelihoods -- especially in regions least responsible for, yet most impacted by, climate change, he said.
Sébastien Treyer, the executive director of French think tank Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, said the Paris Agreement is holding in particular because the European Union and China are committed to it, and many American economic players, even among Trump's supporters, are already developing technologies for a decarbonised world.
However, he said commercial competition could further harden the trade conflict between China and the US, and the poorest countries will be even bigger victims than Europe.
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