Voices: There’s one very good reason Trump should never win a Nobel prize

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As President Trump nails his application for a Nobel Peace Prize to the trembling edifice of the Gaza ceasefire, he may not have not realised that a giant obstacle lies ahead – the international response to his unforgiveable record on climate change.

Trump’s humanitarian efforts may indeed save many thousands of lives from long-running conflicts, but that would pale in comparison with the many more that will be lost thanks to the devastating effects of global heating induced in part by Trump’s cynical policies.

He has told leaders via the UN General Assembly that the climate change affecting their countries is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”. That is part of a three-pronged attack on the climate by aggressively promoting the use of fossil fuels in the USA; slashing aid to the poorer nations already suffering most from an overheating climate; and destabilising global climate diplomacy.

The UN’s Green Climate Fund was in his crosshairs from the start. It helps developing countries to build resilience by improving flood defences and preparing for crop failures, heatwaves and wildfires. The money pays for policies to build sea walls to protect coastal communities, develop drought-resistant crops, and relocate populations threatened by rising seas and desertification. Trump has reneged on a $4 billion (£3bn) pledge for the US to help finance that fund.

The African Group of Climate negotiators called this a "grave disservice to humanity," and the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance labelled Trump’s policies "scientifically false and morally indefensible", pointing out that that the effects of climate change are a daily reality for millions of people in Africa already.

Trump continued his onslaught by slashing funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which particularly harms those impoverished African countries which rely on it. The reductions have severe consequences for health, with estimates suggesting millions of avoidable fatalities and increased poverty levels within four years. Experts warn of the secondary outcomes of the climate crisis in Africa – strife and warfare over resources made scarce by the changing climate.

A resident carries a bag as he walks through a flooded residential area, where rising waters from Lake Tanganyika have inundated homes in the Kinyinya III neighborhood of Gatumba earlier this year

A resident carries a bag as he walks through a flooded residential area, where rising waters from Lake Tanganyika have inundated homes in the Kinyinya III neighborhood of Gatumba earlier this year (AFP/Getty)

On the global stage, Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris Accord (to hold global temperature as close as possible to a rise of 1.5C). His actions have weakened global climate diplomacy by further eroding trust in the US as a reliable partner.

Meanwhile, his "Drill baby, drill" mantra has spread round the world like a virus, emboldening populist politicians to express science-defying views and abandon efforts to reduce emissions. In the UK, Reform has followed Trump’s lead by promising to scrap the legally-binding net zero laws prescribing staged cuts in emissions of planet-heating gases. It promises that further drilling in the North Sea will send household bills tumbling, even though experts say it will barely make a difference. The Conservatives have followed Reform without explaining how they would temper the relentless rise in global temperatures. (Many estimates of the costs of climate technology fail to take into account the costs of doing nothing.)

On US soil, Trump has systematically reversed climate and energy policies. Funded by the gas and oil industries, Trump is driving a doctrine of "energy dominance", aggressively promoting fossil fuel extraction, while sabotaging the growth of renewable energy mandated by former president Biden. His colleagues are diligently of unpicking hundreds of laws and rules on issues such energy efficiency or appliance efficiency.

USAID funding has been slashed by Donald Trump

USAID funding has been slashed by Donald Trump (AFP/Getty)

He has specifically targeted the wind, solar, and electric vehicle (EV) sectors. Federal agencies have delayed or halted approvals for major onshore and offshore wind projects. The administration has sought to cancel or suspend clean energy grants and subsidies, including attempts to dismantle incentives for EVs by reversing vehicle emissions standards.

He supported the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, even though scientists warn that humankind has already found enough fossil fuels to wreck the climate. He has also opened vast, protected federal lands and waters including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to potential aggressive oil and gas leasing.

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) replaced the Democrats’ Clean Power Plan with the far less restrictive Affordable Clean Energy rule. Regulations designed to limit potent methane leaks from drilling operations were also rolled back – even though methane is a greenhouse gas more than 20 times more powerful than CO2.

It was all part of Trump’s plan to reduce perceived environmental "burdens", ensure energy independence, and cement the nation’s status as the world’s leading oil and natural gas producer.

Now, the Nobel committee does make some controversial choices – think Henry Kissinger, Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi – all derided for various reasons, but in 2007 it bestowed the peace award on Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. It would be deeply perverse to pin the same accolade on a man who appears to be at war with the planet, calling climate change action a scam, pathetic, a joke.

Roger Harrabin is an honorary fellow at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and a former BBC correspondent

This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project

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