The news that Trump has won the vote and will become the next US president is bad for America. It's also bad for democracy, both there and everywhere else. It's bad for the rule of law, for women's rights, for civility in public discourse and for respect for facts. And its bad for the global climate. And for everyone who depends on it. Which is everyone.
The world climate is getting worse. The temperature increase will shortly exceed 1.5C and may reach 3C. But we're also at a point from which peak emissions may be in sight. GreenTech deployment in China and the misnamed (but who cares?) US Inflation Reduction Act are hopeful signs. We are not at peak. And the best that can happen now may not be enough to save us. But there is still hope.
Trump will undermine that hope. The measures in Project 2025 would stop government scientists from discussing the causes of climate change and government officials from even planning to mitigate that change. Or, appallingly, from planning emergency response to extreme weather events. Now we don't know whether Trump will do all that. He may do less. We do know that everything he does do will make effective climate action in the US much harder and will therefore make it harder everywhere.
It's customary to end a post like this with optimism, however qualified. I can offer only two things. He can only be president for 4 years and he is not immortal.
