What are the consequences of US climate policy
The US is withdrawing from the climate agreement and restarting coal production. At the same time, the word “climate” is disappearing from many areas of the US administration. How does this climate policy affect the rest of the world?
Tagesschau | March 19, 2025 | Katharina Wilhelm
US President Donald Trump made it clear upon taking office that climate policy would no longer play a role for him: Among other things, he signed the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the very day he took office. With the cry “Drill, Baby Drill,” Trump loudly proclaimed that drilling for gas and oil will resume. To this end, permits for the construction of oil and gas pipelines will be issued more quickly. This should also be possible in protected areas, such as Alaska. Oil production, fracking, coal – fossil fuels should be extracted not only for domestic use, but also for export…
US government on “destructive” course
In the US, climate scientists themselves are also under pressure. Thousands of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees have already been laid off, and the new administration also plans to implement mass layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Both agencies collect, among other things, important data on climate change. The Trump administration is “ more destructive in its course” than during its first term, says lawyer Lauren Kurtz of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. The New York-based NGO provides legal advice to climate scientists who feel threatened or are unable to freely conduct their research.
But she says the Trump administration isn’t necessarily more successful with this course: “They’re being incredibly sloppy. There are already more than 100 lawsuits, and many of these lawsuits will not go well for Trump.” A federal judge has already ordered the U.S. government to rehire thousands of recently laid-off employees.
“Climate” as a trigger word
The fact that the head of the environmental agency describes climate protection measures as a “religion” is a striking example of the direction political rhetoric is taking. Financial support for climate research is currently under government scrutiny, Kurtz reports. Scientists are already removing certain terms from their applications: “Climate” and “biodiversity,” for example, are considered trigger words.
Some scientists are now getting creative, says Kurtz: “They’re using different words. Extreme weather instead of climate change, for example, which isn’t a politically charged word. And they’re starting to archive their research results out of government hands.”