Make Earth great again

In announcing his decision on Thursday, Trump said the US would no longer be a laughing stock. Yet, it is Trump’s own actions that have provoked derision. Major actors like China and the European Union (EU) have boldly pledged to forge ahead with the agreement in the face of Trump’s reversal of the legacy of Barack Obama. French President Emmanuel Macron’s response best summed up the global mood.

“I do respect this decision but I do think it is an actual mistake both for the US and for our planet,” Macron said in a special statement. In a riff on Trump’s pledge to “Make America great again,” Macron added: “Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again.” Trump’s move actually empowers some of the America’s partners and rivals. It gives countries like China more leverage over global affairs by allowing it to forge closer ties with other nations. It threatens already scarce resources, bolstering the possibility of conflict and war.

In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed in Paris to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent the runaway climate change that would occur should temperatures spiral 2C or more above the pre-industrial era. Though a relatively small actor, Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest per capita carbon emissions rate in the hemisphere.

We signed the agreement in 2016.

In a worse-case scenario, the US withdrawal could now add 0.3C to global temperatures by the end of the century, the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation has said.

But though Trump would appear to have dealt a blow to the Paris agreement, his actions could well turn out to have the opposite effect.

Already, individual US states have signalled they will push forward with reforms that presumably are within the scope of their autonomy. The EU has said it will bypass Trump and work with state governors and US business leaders.

Business jefes Elon Musk, the Tesla founder, and Robert Iger, the Disney CEO, resigned from Trump’s business panel as a matter of principle after Trump announced the withdrawal.

The US president’s decision will likely energise the issue of climate change the world over in a way that might not have been possible otherwise.

Which is why Trinidad and Tobago must be mindful that notwithstanding Trump’s actions, the world at large is changing. If we fail to wean ourselves off fossil fuels; if we do not take urgent and effective steps to diversify our economy; if we do not find ways to further harness the unique creativity of our people, we will be left behind.

While it is possible to take comfort in the recent discovery of two trillion cubic feet of gas, as announced by bpTT on the same day as Trump’s decision, and while further discoveries and announcements may be coming from other companies, it remains the case that we cannot depend on natural gas to be our economic salvation.

Firstly, there will be a gap in terms of bringing newly-discovered resources on-stream. While it is also good to hear of investment to the tune of US$5 billion, it is not necessarily apparent that this will result in a commensurate boost to the Treasury. Instead, the benefits will be systemic: more jobs, a trickle-down effect on the economy.

As substantial as our resources may well turn out to be still, no one should rest easy. It’s time to face the fact that the world has already begun to change. And for the better.