what will be the consequences for the fight against global warming

The United States will undoubtedly radically change its environmental policy and disrupt upcoming climate summits.

A climate skeptic in the White House. Donald Trump was re-elected President of the United States on Tuesday, November 5. A threat to global climate negotiations and policies five days before the start of COP29 in Azerbaijan.

The future president has never hidden his climate skepticism. Global warming is a “prank” according to the president-elect who is committed to reviving oil extraction in the United States: “I make this promise to the great American people: I will end the devastating inflation crisis and lower the cost of energy. We will drill, honey, drill!”

Other promises include an end to regulations on polluting emissions from cars and an end to standards to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants. All while leaving the Paris agreement, as during his first mandate. The United States, the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, would no longer comply with global objectives to limit warming, which risks weighing on the negotiations at the COP in Azerbaijan which opens on November 11.

“The very clear victory of Donald Trump creates a very significant climate of uncertainty over the negotiationsanalyzes Lola Vallejo, from the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations. The subject that is really on the agenda for this year is the question of climate finance, that is to say what solidarity effort we can make with developing countries. The fact that all countries are paralyzed by the Trump administration's announcement is a significant risk and it will be very negative.” Lola Vallejo, on the other hand, does not believe in a contagion effect with other countries which would leave the Paris agreement or revise their ambitions significantly downward.

Environmental advocates are dismayed by the outcome of this election. “This is very bad news”reacts the Climate Action Network which, all the same, puts the scope of this election into perspective. First of all, it is Joe Biden's teams who will participate in COP29 in Azerbaijan and then Donald Trump does not make global climate policy alone. “In itself, there are all the other states around the tablerecalls Gaïa Febvre, responsible for international issues at the Climate Action Network. Within the United States, certain progressive states, cities but perhaps also businesses will say that it is important to respect the Paris agreement. It’s all these pockets of resistance that will be created and that we will have to look at.”

The Climate Action Network calls on the European Union and France to take part in this “resistance”. At this stage, there is no reaction from the Minister of Ecology Agnès Pannier-Runacher, responsible in particular for climate negotiations.