Trump’s disastrous decision

There was much excitement and euphoria around the world when the draft agreement was signed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France in December 2015. The countries agreed to limit global temperature rises to well below two degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to keep temperature rises to one and a half degrees Celsius.

Former US President Barack Obama supported the decisions of the climate conference and pledged US support. Of course, at that time, US President Donald Trump criticised the decisions and threatened that he would not honour the commitment made by the Obama administration if they were voted to power.

Still, it is shocking that Trump has taken this decision on such a serious matter. Obviously, he has not cared to think about the adverse implications to the world at large because of his counter-productive decision. While many countries have signed the agreement, the ground reality is that the interest and responsibilities between the countries diverge widely, ranging from the strong industrial economies of the global north, such as the US, Canada and others to industrialising nations such as China and India to the most vulnerable nations already facing climate change disruptions, such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Trump is ignoring that the US has to contribute substantially to reduce global warming by initiating positive actions on its soil and cooperating with other countries. The impact will affect the entire community. Trump’s America cannot escape from this grim scenario. If Trump thinks that the decisions of the climate conference need changes, he should discuss it in the world forum and seek corrective measures instead of running away.

The world cannot afford to ignore the negative decision of Trump, as the US is a main polluter and contributor to global warming. One only hopes that wisdom will prevail and the world’s opinion would assert itself to force Trump to retract from his disastrous decision.

— The reader is a founder trustee of an NGO based in Chennai, India.