The past six months have been a tsunami of news from, with and about Donald Trump. The flow of "fake news", invectives and ignorant statements has been so exhaustive that it eventually becomes difficult to get upset about what comes across Trumps lips or is delivered via his tweets. But it is important that we do not let ourselves be normalized by a president who seems to have come to power in a very dubious way and whose admiration for other despots is only matched by his dirty financial business.
It is not possible to say that Trump's destructive policy and attempting to throw the United States back to a bygone era has had any positive impact. But I think that his way of declaring the withdrawal from the Paris agreement has led to something new. The way he did it, by not talking about the climate but instead in a bombastic, ignorant and indifferent way proclaiming "America first" is so trivial and shows so clearly that he's really a toddler and not one of the world's leaders.
Perhaps it was the arrogant way he pronounced the withdrawal, at the same time rejecting the agreement and wanting to renegotiate it to get a better “deal" that seem to have infuriated other world leaders and led them to almost unison condemnation (Teresa May’s bleak statement is probably due to that she does not have that many friends left). From Macron, who rhetorically elegantly turned Trump's argument against him stating "Make Our Planet Great Again”; to the Vatican state declaring that "Thinking that we need and must rely on coal and oil is like claiming that the Earth is not round” the criticism been massive. India, the EU and China, all have expressed their continued support for the Paris agreement. In equally clearly terms, Trump has been condemned by the media.
It also seem as if Trump's arrogance has personally challenged mayors, governors and industry leaders in the United States. A large number of cities and states, with New York and California in the lead, have already declared that they will both fulfil and exceed the goals of the Paris agreement. Outside the coal industry, there are few companies that stand behind Trump, not even Exxon Mobile. It is one of the things that, in spite of Trumps manoeuvring, gives me hope that the conversion from the fossil society that has started can not be reversed, albeit slowed down.
Thanks to Trump, we now also need to make climate a very personal matter. It is obvious that we will not be able to change the path we are as quickly as needed solely by relying on international agreements or overall political statements. Therefore, it is a sign of the times when people begin to take personal responsibility for our climate and “walk the talk" by declaring that they will refrain from air travel. It is as clear an example as becoming a vegetarian for environmental reasons, but ceasing air travel seems to be very difficult and provocative in our part of the world. This is partly due to the fact that fast and comfortable trains (including sleeper train) are not yet widely available. It is usually more expensive and more difficult to catch the train. But someone has to take the lead in order for politicians to dare to change the course, and for this they should be honoured and not ridiculed.
Hopefully, Trump's attempt to fool the world and his crazy belief in building a future on coal can invigorate both citizens and politicians to a rapid switch to a climate-neutral society. In order for this to happen, we need to think about both what we personally can influence and how we make it clear to hesitant politicians that we are prepared for change. The conversion to a carbon neutral society will not be easy nor free. This will be a challenge for politicians who like to promise reforms now, rather than talking about hard work and long-term issues beyond next term. Perhaps this task will be easier to take on, if it simultaneously becomes a battle against everything represented by a demagogue and fake player like Trump.
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