Trump's stance on climate change raises concerns

 by María Josefina Arce

The economy, abortion, immigration, and firearms are the issues on the minds of Americans who went to the polls on Tuesday to elect the new president of the United States. But there is another issue that has also received more attention, albeit to a lesser extent, and has been in the background during the campaign: climate change.

This year, the United States has seen fires in the state of California and hurricanes of great intensity, such as Helene and Milton, in September and October, causing loss of life and billions of dollars in damages.

For many, the position on climate change of Republican Donald Trump, who returns to the White House for a second term after defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election, is worrying.

The tycoon has called this phenomenon a fraud, and during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, he withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty signed in 2015 that commits nations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But in his steely defense of business, he went further, rolling back some 125 environmental regulations and policies aimed at protecting the nation's air, water, land, and wildlife.

Many remember that just two months into his presidency, Trump signed an executive order to revive the fossil fuel industry.

In doing so, he supported coal mining despite criticism from many quarters.

In his current campaign, Trump has promised to eliminate investments in renewable energy sources and electric cars, and increase domestic fossil fuel production.

Environmental organizations have called the Republican's stance on fighting climate change and protecting biodiversity suicidal.

The climate and energy coordinator of Ecologists in Action, Javier Andaluz, has pointed out that the United States is one of the most responsible for the current climate injustice and should therefore be one of the first to decarbonize.

According to many, Donald Trump's new mandate could deal a severe blow to global efforts to take care of the planet we live on.