Peter Dykstra: Trump’s global soulmates

Peter Dykstra: Trump’s global soulmates

As the climate alarm grows louder, President Trump's climate denial regime gains allies.

Only a few years ago, climate denial was on the run in world capitals.


In the U.S., the Obama Administration may have underachieved, but was still a welcome change from Vice President Dick Cheney's fossil fuel lovefest.

In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's purge of government science was ousted in favor of a pale green Justin Trudeau.

Former boxer Tony Abbott was counted out in Australia. Even the Saudi's made noise about a future without oil.

But joining Donald Trump in a stunning reversal of fortune, Australia has swung back to climate denial, and once-vocal developing nation advocates for climate action like Brazil and the Philippines have backslid as well.

All of this is happening at a time when high-level unanimity on climate is essential.

Conspiracy plots and poison

Roiled by an economic crisis and high-level corruption allegations, Brazil's electorate made an abrupt turn last year, opting for right wing populist Jair Bolsonaro. His disdain for the Paris Climate Accord was front-and-center in his winning campaign.

Bolsonaro's supporting cast has tossed rhetorical bombs at climate science.

Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo parroted an early theme of Trump tweets, suggesting that climate scientists, environmental activists and fellow travelers were part of a plot by China to corner the world's energy markets.

Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina is nicknamed "The Muse of Poison" for her advocacy of intensive pesticide use. Cristina is also pushing to speed the conversion of Amazon rainforest to farmland, and has made not-too-subtle threats about undermining Brazil's already beleaguered Environment Ministry.

Climate loses the "climate change election"

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right). (Credit: G20Australia/flickr)

Australia's new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, rode a wave of support for the coal industry to victory as head of Australia's Liberal Party (in Australia, the "Liberal" Party is what Americans would call Conservative or Republican. I've never known how that happened.)

It was billed as "The Climate Change Election." Climate lost.

Coal is still a big deal in Australia, with huge export markets throughout Asia. Big enough, apparently, that Aussie voters saw fit to swap the imperiled Great Barrier Reef for 30 pieces of coal.

The end of May

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte accepts that climate change is real, citing on-the-ground impacts in his country.

But he threatened to reverse Filipino involvement in the Paris Climate Accord, calling the pact "unfair" to developing nations.

Friday's resignation of British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves another question mark. May will serve until her Conservative Party chooses a successor to lead a minority government already hogtied by the Brexit decision.

Foreign Minister Boris Johnson is widely considered the leading contender. The mercurial Johnson has uttered bipolar views on climate change, at times urging the U.S. to reconsider its climate denial, while at other times quoting leading U.K. climate denier Piers Corbyn.

Back in Trump-land ... 

Here in the Land of Trump, the President's embrace of "beautiful, clean coal" hasn't done much to revive the reeling industry's fortunes. On May 10, Cloud Peak Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, leaving its miners in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana uncertain about their future.

This week, 75 business leaders, including some from Fortune Fifty giants like PepsiCo and Microsoft, lobbied the U.S. Senate to urge a carbon pricing scheme. Not a single Republican Senator listened.

So, in a supreme and potentially tragic irony, Trump has gone from virtually standing alone as a climate-denying head of state to leading an apparent climate collusion.

Somewhere in the mix is Russian President Putin, whose authoritarian fortunes are pinned, among other things, to natural gas exports and access to the resources of a melting Arctic.

World leaders need to not only speak, but act, as one on climate. Such an imperative is growing more difficult, not easier, in the face of a clear and present danger.

Ornate Parliament Hill building and clock tower in Canada's capital city.

Mark Carney’s rise places Trump between two quiet climate champions

Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, both seasoned climate advocates, now flank President Trump, creating a North American dynamic where climate leadership persists even when it’s not a campaign focus.

Justin Worland reports for TIME.

Keep reading...Show less
A kitchen wall with cabinets and an oven
Credit: Ida/Pixabay

Energy Star program faces shutdown as EPA reorganizes under Trump administration

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate the Energy Star program and other climate initiatives as part of a major agency reorganization, according to internal documents and recordings.

Lisa Friedman and Rebecca F. Elliott report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Two men holding rope and setting up a roof for solar panels.

Political shifts stall $8 billion in clean energy projects as U.S. renewables boom

The U.S. clean energy sector has grown dramatically, but policy uncertainty under President Trump has already led to the cancellation or downsizing of nearly $8 billion in renewable projects this year.

Ames Alexander reports for Floodlight.

Keep reading...Show less
Sign in front of electric vehicle chargers that says 'Electric Vehicle Only'.

Why some House Democrats helped block California’s 2035 gas car ban

Thirty-five House Democrats joined Republicans to overturn California’s plan to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035, citing concerns about affordability and heavy industry lobbying.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Mining excavator in a mine pit.

Trump administration accelerates Alabama coal expansion mostly for foreign steel markets

The Trump administration is expediting the approval of a major Alabama coal mine expansion despite environmental and safety concerns, with most of the coal destined for export to foreign steelmakers.

Lee Hedgepeth reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
LNG storage tank with a red sky in the background.

Louisiana expands LNG exports as Trump fast-tracks new terminal permits

A new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is moving forward in southwest Louisiana, adding to the state’s growing LNG footprint as federal and state officials push for more fossil fuel infrastructure.

Tristan Baurick reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Big Ben and Parliament building in the United Kingdom.

UK residents take government’s climate strategy to European human rights court

Two British men argue that the UK’s failure to protect them from climate-related harm violates their human rights and have escalated their case to Europe’s top human rights court.

Damien Gayle reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.