No leaders remain to check Trump’s climate wreckage

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on POLITICO or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Donald Trump’s return to the White House would come amid a fractured international climate leadership landscape, leaving fewer global figures to counter his rollback of climate policies
• Key leaders, distracted by domestic crises, wars, and economic issues, are not attending the upcoming COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan

🔭 The context: During Trump’s first term, a united global front opposed his climate policies, but today’s political focus has shifted
• Economic woes, rising populism, and internal conflicts are pulling attention away from climate, as seen in the absence of leaders like Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Olaf Scholz at COP29

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: With fewer leaders focused on climate, there’s concern that progress on emissions reduction and climate finance will stall, worsening the planet’s trajectory toward warming and extreme weather events

⏭️ What's next: The February deadline for new national climate targets looms, critical for global emissions through 2035. Brazil’s Lula and the UK’s Keir Starmer may coordinate to inject ambition, but Trump’s potential rollback could significantly undermine U.S. and international climate efforts

💬 One quote: “Is there any leader that sees climate as a key driver of contemporary politics and society?” asks Luca Bergamaschi, founder of the Ecco climate think tank

📈 One stat: Fossil fuels still account for 80% of the world’s energy supply, with subsidies totaling $620 billion in 2023

Click for more news covering the latest on ethical governance and climate change