Trump has made the fight for a liveable climate personal

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. 

Recharging by the sea as clouds gather in the west

I’m back by the sea. This is where I always go when I need to recharge and be at peace with myself. Watching the ripples on the water surface in the diminishing light from the setting sun, while listening to the blackbirds singing is a way of being present; effortless mindfulness. Tonight I treated myself with some fresh shrimps and a glass of wine as an extra luxury.

As I sat by the beach, I chose to ignore the buzzing from my phone and the “breaking news” signals. But dark clouds started to drift in from the west, as a telltale sign of bad news. This foreboding was correct, because when I picked up my phone as I walked back up to the house the message was clear: “Trump withdraws from the Paris climate accord”. 

The news did not really come as a surprise, more like a verification of the combined arrogance, egoism, ignorance and shortsightedness of the so called president Trump. This action fits well with his lack of empathy with anyone but himself:

"He is the spoiled child of an indulgent father who imagines that what he achieved via nepotism is rather attributable to his own superior qualities.”

He is also a man to always tries to take credit for others achievements and uses everyone else for his purposes. Tonight he claimed to love coalminers and bragged about being elected by the people in Pittsburgh not Paris. But the folks in Pittsburgh were neither pleased nor impressed. In the words of mayor Bill Peduto:

As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future

Climate change is already here and the negative effects are already clearly visible. Trump may be too old, too fat and too unhealthy to himself be able to experience the worst consequences of climate change. But I do wish him to live long enough to see his getaway spot in Mar-Del-Lago be flooded from the rising sea waters. 

For all of us that will be around a bit longer and especially for the children of today and tomorrow, the decision by Trump will be remembered as one man egoism winning over the planet. 

All this said we must remember that the Paris accord in itself would not have saved us, even with the participation of USA. A much more rapid shift away from fossil fuels is needed. But Trumps decision may slow the pace of the necessary transition and dilute our efforts when focus and action is what is needed. Still, there is a chance that we can shift direction in time to a clean energy society and thus a liveable planet, since the economic incitament for going green is becoming so strong. In that case, USA may be the biggest looser in this development:

A global shift to renewable energy is on. There’s no denying it or turning it around. It’s good for business. This is not fake news. It’s real life. And it’s happening with or without you.

Regrettably, ignorance and shortsightedness are not confined to Trump. Just this week in Sweden there was a decision to expand an airport adjacent to a ski resort; a location that has already had problems with lack of snow and mild winter temperatures. Also in Sweden, record sales of (mostly combustion engine) cars was reported. And on my Facebook feed I could see endless pictures posted by a group of acquaintances from their week of shopping spree in New York.

There is an enormous need of leadership if we are going to solve the climate challenge, especially now after the American abdication. Some reason for hope is that there are indications that the EU and China will step up to the plate. This could actually become a huge chance for Europe to find a common positive cause to fight for. Already, the French president Macron has invited scientists and entrepreneurs to move here if there is a lack of opportunities in the USA. 

But to have bold leaders, we as citizens also need to do our part. If we are not willing to abstain from anything there is not a chance that we can transition to a low emission future in time to stabilise the climate. What we must learn as grown ups, in contrast to the toddler attitude of Trump, is that you have to make an effort and sometimes a sacrifice to succeed. As I have written before, the valiant quest is not a simple journey. 

My comment on the French presidential election

In November, just two days before the US election i wrote a short comment in anticipation of what i then believed to be a likely Hillary Clinton win:

"If Donald Trump looses there is no reason to be jubilant for Hillary Clinton. There needs to be mobilisation that brings together both environmental champions and social activists in order to create a just and inclusive future. We need both the grassroots, the science geeks and the innovators and we need them now”

Tonight, after Marine le Pen has been thoroughly defeated by Emanuel Macron in the French election, it is time for a moment of relief. The populist and rightwing tide that we saw in both the Brexit vote and in Trumps unjustful promotion to the US presidency (he did after all loose the popular vote) seems to have been rolled back. Luckily, the kind of involvement by obscure actors that we saw in the US election, with smearing campaigns and hacker attacks seems to have had little influence in France. The result was partly due to Macrons attractiveness as a young and fresh politician, not burdened by the failures of both the socialist and the republican parties in France. But the outcome of the election was also to a large extent a "No" vote agains Le Pen and her nationalist and xenophobic agenda. 

The immediate fear of a Frexit can be put aside and the EU is likely to prevail with France and Germany continuing as the core of the union. But the challenges are still there and while the angry nationalists come up with all the wrong answers some of the symptoms they try to exploit needs to be addressed. Leaders in many of our liberal democracies have failed to grasp the effects of globalisation and likewise failed to provide a vision of future that is fair, equitable and truly sustainable. And with sustainable, I mean something that really addresses the profound climate crisis we are in, not some kind of superficial green makeover that lulls us into thinking all is well.  

So for the moment let’s pin our hopes for Europe to Macron and the visions he pointed to in his victory speech, on a future for both France and the world where the old french slogan “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” can be revitalised in a way that is benign to our environment. But what we must understand is that democracy is not about voting every 4th or 6th year. Neither is it about the kind of quasi-democratic and dumbing “yes or no”, “in or out” type of referendum that seems to be so popular with the right-wing nationalists. 

No, if we want a just future in a world with a liveable climate we better start thinking about what we can do and how we can contribute to a better future. It was encouraging that Macron actually talked about our joint responsibilities. But it is up to us as citizens to understand that is better if our politicians underpromise and overperform, rather than listen to and be attracted by the lure of snake oil salesmen and women like Erdogan, Le Pen and Trump. The track record if we are fooled to put theses people in office is horrifying as we can see in the now “illiberal” democracy in Hungary. We deserve a better future, we will not get it without efforts.