White House to try to calm world at UN climate conference
Newly elected US President Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
A senior Democrat will attend the UN Climate Summit in Baku next week to convince the international community that a significant portion of the US remains committed to preventing a climate catastrophe, reports Politico.
This is happening amid concerns among environmentalists about the new balance of power in Washington, which could lead to the rollback of environmental regulations and the end of climate leadership on the global stage.
"Cracking down on methane leakage, decarbonizing our economy, and combatting sea level rise are firmly on my agenda for COP29," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, in a comment to Politico.
"But we can’t ignore that Donald Trump, Republicans, and their fossil fuel mega-donors are aiming a torpedo at the climate progress Democrats have made in the last four years," he added.
According to Whitehouse, Americans will not give up their fight for climate action and against corruption in the fossil fuel sector, which will soon seize power in Washington.
Trump and climate change
The significance of this year's summit has increased following the elections, which are expected to lead to a sharp shift in US climate policy. Trump, who has referred to climate change as a hoax, withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement during his last term in office and deprioritized climate action within the federal government.
It is anticipated that he will take similar steps during his second administration. He is also likely to target aggressive emissions reduction measures implemented by President Joe Biden's Environmental Protection Agency and slow the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.
After his reelection, Trump has already stated his intention to revisit US climate policy. "I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill," he said about his plans for the first day.
