Trumpist triumph – where now for the resistance?
The USA is currently both economically and militarily the strongest country on earth. By winning the Presidency so decisively Donald Trump has gained enormous power, and he intends to use it, at home and worldwide – a bonanza for fossil fuels and imperial grandeur on the international scene.
Climate realists fear the future with good reason; four years of this may well destroy our last chance of averting climate catastrophe and the extinction of civilized human life. The Trump vision is flawed: it’s based on the delusion that climate change is not real.
Climate Change is a fact, and as hurricanes, typhoons, deluges, floods and wildfires become more and more frequent, and worse, more people will realize that the world is on a slippery slope to disaster. Denialist delusions will be blown away. The man in the White House may end up as the last denialist.
Whole-hearted American intervention was key in defeating Hitler, and in saving South Korea’s independence, but more recent interventions in the Middle East have not ended well.
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By advancing renewable power at an ever-increasing scale, China has established a commanding lead in renewable power on the rest of the world.
Rapid worldwide roll-out of renewable energy technologies in this decade is the answer, but it needs investment.
Where is the money coming from?
Brazil has stepped up and is leading the campaign. As current Chair of the G20, Brazil has launched two international initiatives to solve this by proposing:
2% global tax on billionaires (supported by Germany, Spain and South Africa), which will be put before the G20 Summit in Rio in November 2024.
UN Tax Convention, which will be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 2024. It aims to be a transformative radical measure to ensure that all individuals, companies and multinationals pay due tax in every country in which they operate, whether by sourcing materials, processing and manufacturing them or marketing their products.
Trillions of pounds – mostly proceeds of crime or tax evasion - are hidden in plain sight in these pernicious secretive tax/money havens. This money could fund transition to renewables in every country that participates. Some countries will refuse to join, but those that do join could form a powerful bloc and demonstrate the benefits at COP30 in Brazil in 2025.
What can we do?
1. Press our democratic representatives and governments to support the UN Tax Convention
2. Support environmental protection and re-wilding policies
3. Show solidarity with our allies in hostile political situations as they resist imposition of insane or cruel policies
4. Be kind and polite to people who disagree with us
5. Welcome migrants fleeing from war, oppression or collapse of their farming due to climate change
