 The COP22 globe in Marrkesh following US Presidential elections. | While heartbroken for America and the horrible presidential election that so many endured, I wasn’t surprised by the outcome. The same forces at play in Brexit and in the rise of the extreme right in other parts of Europe have been playing out in the USA for a while too and that all feeds into the ISIL agenda swimmingly. I saw the writing on the wall back in July when I read this apocalyptic blog by Tobias Stone: ‘History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump’. |
I half-joked with colleagues over the past few months that if Trump won the presidential election, I would move my career from climate education and activism to apocalypse preparation. It’s always been a closeted interest of mine and I would probably fair a lot better financially with such a career move. Now, here I am, sitting in the United Nations 22nd climate negotiations (COP22) in Marrakesh and the optimist in me isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.
Maybe it’s a blessing that I am surrounded by over 20,000 people working in climate as the news comes in that America has elected a denialist whose plan for his first 100-days includes pulling out of all UN climate agreements and climate funding commitments. Today, we encourage each other to stay focused on the important work at hand. Many of the younger attendees give each other long consolatory hugs in the hallways, reminding me of how I reacted in my early twenties when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore. I thought it was the end of the world at the time. -Similarly, that outcome had grave implications for our climate.
| At a Demand Climate Justice press conference this morning in the COP, 18-year-old Asian-American Becky Chung of SustainUS spoke impassionedly about her first voting experience and how disenfranchised she felt by the outcome, but her optimism stole the show as she explained to wild applause “Donald Trump is not as powerful a man as he thinks he is” and called for more engagement on the ground in implementing climate solutions. |  Demand Climate Justice briefing at COP22 Nov. 9, 2016. Watch here: http://unfccc.cloud.streamworld.de/webcast/friends-of-the-earth-international |
Generally, the opinion from COP today is, while the election outcome makes it more difficult for the U.S. to act on the Paris Agreement’s goals, we have been here before and the rest of the world continued to progress climate action despite U.S obfuscation. I’m expecting Barrack Obama to arrive at any moment and shout “Yes We Can” to keep advancing this important work.
Delegates from the U.S.A. console us that over 75% of Americans now accept the climate science and are still keen to act and that even Republican politicians are moving toward climate action in response to constituents' demands. Local and city-level action on climate in the USA is stronger than ever before: California just banned fracking and Florida rejected an amendment enabling utilities to charge them fees for producing their own household solar power, just to name two good news stories overshadowed by the national result.
Delegates from other high emitting countries, such as China, remind us that a tipping point has already been reached on climate action and that their countries are already beginning the transformation. The astonishing speed in which the Paris Climate Agreement went into force is offered as proof of that commitment. They argue no one man, especially not Donald Trump, can turn back the tide.
Delegates from the U.S.A. console us that over 75% of Americans now accept the climate science and are still keen to act and that even Republican politicians are moving toward climate action in response to constituents' demands. Local and city-level action on climate in the USA is stronger than ever before: California just banned fracking and Florida rejected an amendment enabling utilities to charge them fees for producing their own household solar power, just to name two good news stories overshadowed by the national result.
Delegates from other high emitting countries, such as China, remind us that a tipping point has already been reached on climate action and that their countries are already beginning the transformation. The astonishing speed in which the Paris Climate Agreement went into force is offered as proof of that commitment. They argue no one man, especially not Donald Trump, can turn back the tide.
| Countries and communities no longer want to depend on dirty energy systems and all the negative societal impacts that come with them and will continue to move toward cleaner renewable energy for many reasons beyond climate change. | |
Abraham Lincoln said America will never be destroyed from the outside, and if it falters, it will be because it destroyed itself. While America may have chosen a new president today, it still has a choice to make on whether to join the global clean energy revolution or stay behind in its Industrial past addicted to fossil fuel and a linear economy, destroying itself from within. Today at COP22, the evidence suggests the world will keep going in its transformation to a fossil fuel free future with or without the United States of America. Hopefully, the land of opportunity is still forward thinking enough to join us.
 Cara Augustenborg at COP22 in Marrakesh, Nov. 8 2016 | Today, there’s no reason not to keep fighting the good fight. -Cara Stay tuned for more updates from COP22 this week on Twitter at @CAugustenborg |
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