Donald Trump's victory on the US presidency over Hillary Clinton came as a shock not only to the US and economy but also to ongoing climate change negotiations. Trump, who does not believe on climate change, says that he will "cancel" the Paris climate change agreement once elected.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Trump winning the presidency is a huge "blow" to the fight against climate change. Previously, Trump said that he will withdraw the US' support to the Paris Climate Deal and would, instead, do the opposite -- increase the production of one of the most harmful fossil fuels, coal.
Due to this statement and views of Trump with regard to climate change, the current international climate change negotiations in Marrakech, Morocco has "contemplated" what will happen.
“Science cannot expect any positive climate action from him. The world has now to move forward without the U.S. on the road towards climate-risk mitigation and clean-technology innovation," Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said via Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Reinhard Butikofer and Monica Frassoni, co-chairs of the European Green Party, also expressed their thoughts on Trump's victory and what it would mean to the global fight on climate change. According to them, if Trump stick to his words during his campaign about foreign policies, it will "severely undermine transatlantic relations, the international rule of law and world peace.”
To recall, US President Barack Obama, together with China and other 190 countries, has forged the Paris Deal last year, pledging to lessen the US production of pollution. However, Trump has clearly announced that he will "cancel" everything that the encumbent president has worked on.
“Trump’s election is a disaster. Trump will try and slam the brakes on climate action. Our work becomes much harder now, but it’s not impossible, and we refuse to give up," May Boeve, executive director of the anti-fossil-fuel campaign group 350.org, told Bloomberg.