After the news of Donald Trump’s re-election, the fate of the climate is now a hot topic. Trump claims that climate change is a “hoax”, despite National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) data stating that “at least 97% of active climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are most likely due to human activity”. In The Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025”, from which Trump is widely expected to adopt many principles, there is a continuance of environmentally harmful actions from Trump’s first presidential term. This includes an increase in fossil fuel production. 

Greenhouse gas emissions, which predominantly come from burning fossil fuels, trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the planet. According to NASA, fossil fuel levels reached an all time high last year, with 36.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We have also witnessed record breaking temperatures this year, and we can only expect it to increase. 

In 2017, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. The legally binding treaty focuses on climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance. Goals of the agreement include limiting the global average temperature increase to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and eventually down to a 1.5°C increase. 

There must be an immediate reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, meeting net-zero emissions by mid-century to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Transitions to renewable energy across multiple sectors including transportation, industry, and electricity generation are also key action items. President Biden signed an agreement to re-enter the United States into the Paris Agreement back in 2020, but we can expect that Trump will once again withdraw the country from the treaty.

In Trump’s first presidential term, he targeted air pollution prevention policies, totaling 28 rollbacks. He also struck 12 rules on drilling, advancing fossil fuel production in the country. 

The Trump administration also rolled back on federal protections of streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act regulates waterways, and includes policies to prevent pollution from factories and sewage treatment plans. These rollbacks and weakened environmental protections put citizens of the United States at risk of dealing with polluted water and air. A study done at Harvard predicted that Trump’s environmental policy changes during his first term could potentially lead to an additional 80,000 deaths per decade.

During Trump’s latest presidential campaign, he threatened to make even more radical changes in terms of climate acts. According to Carbon Brief, a climate science publisher, Trump’s second presidency could result in an additional 4 billion tons of U.S. emissions by 2030. The United States is currently the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, responsible for a whopping 12.6% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.  Under the Paris Agreement, there is a goal of 50-52% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030, but under Trump’s administration we can expect only a 28% decrease. With Trump’s pledge to “drill, baby, drill”, there can be even more of a setback with limiting emissions. 

Significant action against climate change needs to be made by 2030 in order to effectively mitigate the worst effects that could come from climate change. With Trump’s second term starting in 2025, and a limited amount of time to make changes, the stakes are even higher than before.