The Download: What Trump’s victory means for the climate

—James Temple

Donald Trump’s decisive victory is a stunning setback for the fight against climate change.

The Republican president-elect’s return to the White House means the US is going to squander precious momentum, unraveling hard-won policy progress that was just beginning to pay off, all for the second time in less than a decade. 

It comes at a moment when the world can’t afford to waste time, with nations far off track from any emissions trajectories that would keep our ecosystems stable and our communities safe. 

Trump could push the globe into even more dangerous terrain, by defanging President Joe Biden’s signature climate laws, exacerbating the dangers of heat waves, floods, wildfires, droughts, and famine and increase deaths and disease from air pollution. And this time round, I fear it will be far worse. Read the full story.

The US is about to make a sharp turn on climate policy

The past four years have seen the US take climate action seriously, working with the international community and pumping money into solutions. Now, we’re facing a period where things are going to be very different. This is what the next four years will mean for the climate fight. Read the full story.