June 06, 2017

Standing up to climate change denial at the White House

located:	USA
editor:	Maria João Morais

Despite Trump's promise on the campaign trail, it is still shocking that he has carried this one out. The USA, historically the largest contributor to climate change, dealt a blow to the global community last week by abandoning the Paris Climate Agreement.

Succumbing to the power of oil companies and other polluting industries, billionaire President Donald Trump did little to hide the move´s motives, admitting that the agreement simply posed a threat to the country's economy. The withdrawal was received with euphoria on Wall Street.

Signed in 2015 and backed by 195 countries, the Paris agreement was already criticised for being weak, overdue and insufficient by the scientific community, who furthermore deemed its objective of keeping temperature rises below 1.5º by 2100 as unachievable. Thus, by tearing up an agreement already considered ambitious, Trump has given a huge setback to the fight against climate change.

Therefore, it is more important than ever that the unanimous criticism by European Union leaders, as well as their Chinese counterparts, of Trump's decision is not just rhetoric. However, many of those who spoke out against Trump continue to support environmental malpractices such as fracking, coalmining, deforestation, oil drilling and exploration or intensive farming. Therefore, those who criticised the US president must be held to account in implementing policies that effectively combat rising global temperatures and climate change, the devastating consequences of which are already suffered by millions of people across the globe.

Despite climate change denial emanating from the White House, those who prioritise the importance of the environmental future must come together, be they in Europe, China or even the United States. Additionally, citizen activism is vital in pressurising senior politicians to put their words into action.