Since Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, the fight against climate change has ended for his country. According to Trump, climate change is a Chinese hoax designed to gain a competitive edge, and that is why it is clear that the U.S. will no longer lead the Paris Agreement.
Trump has shut down all the environmental plans developed jointly by Barack Obama and the Chinese government, including those that led the negotiations to finalize the Paris Agreement in 2015. However, despite Trump's lack of support in the fight against climate change, China and Europe are prepared to move forward and lead the charge.
Environmental programs canceled by Trump
The programs that were in place before the Trump administration canceled them aimed to enable the US to meet the goals set when the Paris Agreement was signed. These goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025 compared to 2005 levels. The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete, has acknowledged that, with Trump's executive order, the US is left without the "main tools" to achieve these targets.
In the fight against climate change, we can no longer count on the support of the United States; however, China and Europe will continue to move forward. Both China and Europe will not change their resolve, objectives, or policies on climate change, but will instead continue their planned efforts to improve climate quality. It is worth noting that some countries, such as those in the European Union and China , are firmly committed to continuing to lead the Paris Agreement and are considering how US efforts may affect the global climate.
China and Europe efforts
Since 2013, Brussels and Beijing had stalled a dialogue on energy and climate change, which they have now revived in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This dialogue aims to increase cooperation on energy transmission networks, boost technological innovation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. According to Cañete, climate change will play a key role at the annual EU-China summit to be held in Brussels in June.
China and the EU also set emissions reduction targets in the Paris Agreement, as did the nearly 200 other signatory countries. These reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will be implemented starting in 2020 and will be voluntary. That is, each state sets its own targets. China's contribution to emissions reductions is very small compared to the effort the European Union intends to make. Beijing argues that it is not among the group of Western countries that triggered the climate change problem after decades of emitting CO2 . The Chinese commitment is to reach peak emissions by 2030 and then begin reducing them. This is part of an effort that also includes the European Union and its climate ambitions.
According to experts, China's peak emissions will arrive before 2030 because it is gradually phasing out coal and improving renewable energy sources. In this context, it is important to remember that following Trump's victory, China will lead the Paris Agreement and work diligently to fulfill its climate commitments.
The commitment of the European Union
The European Union has the most ambitious climate target of any international effort since the US withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2001. Europe aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. However, tensions are currently rising within the EU as negotiations begin on how to divide the effort and implement the instruments needed to achieve this global goal. According to a recent report by Carbon Market Watch, Sweden, Germany, and France are pushing for ambitious climate policy development, while another bloc, led by Poland, is moving in the opposite direction.
China, the US, and Europe together account for half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. That's why, without the efforts and support of the United States, around 15% of global emissions would still be released , making it extremely difficult to meet the Paris Agreement goal: reducing greenhouse gases so that the temperature increase by the end of the century does not exceed 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It is imperative that the role of the United States in this global effort be considered, as its absence could seriously affect the expected results.
