As the president Donald Trump is upending the world economy around with his unprecedented tariffs on the US imports, the topic of climate change has quietly slipped into the background. And that too at a time when climate crises have successively wracked the parts of the world including the United States. For example, in 2024, over 9 million acres of land were scorched across the western US, especially in California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Texas and Arizona. Some of the largest fires, fueled by prolonged drought, extreme heatwaves, and dry winds, raged for weeks. 

According to the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2024 was the hottest year on record, with over 150 unprecedented climate disasters worldwide. The world witnessed extreme heatwaves, floods, and storms. What’s more, even Antarctica was struck by a heatwave. During the Antarctic winter, temperatures soared up to 28°C above average, leading to significant ice melt and contributing to rising sea levels. 

Paris Pact Without America

While  leadership is needed to steer the world through this disruption, America, the world’s greatest power, has chosen to abdicate itself. Under Trump, the US has not just made light of the recurrent catastrophic climate changes sweeping different parts of the world but also withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. 

Adopted in 2015, the Paris Agreement aims to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It includes reviewing countries’ commitments to cutting emissions every five years through nationally determined contributions. The agreement also provides for “mobilizing climate finance to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation efforts.”

Although the implementation of the agreement has been erratic and uneven, the world is still a better place for it.  Without the US backing and the leadership, the agreement may run adrift. While the pact is still upheld by all the countries except Iran, Libya and Yemen – and now, of course, by the US – it has lost much of its force due to US exit. Also, the other states can’t match the resources and power that the US alone has to enforce it. So, there is a clear risk for the agreement to either fall apart or become more uneven in its implementation. 

America abdicates leadership

As things stand, there’s little hope that Trump will review his position on climate change. By the time his term draws to a close in 2028, the US will already have been out of the pact for eight of the thirteen years of its existence. Should a Republican once again take over from Trump – or in the unlikely scenario, should Trump continue as the president as indicated by him in an interview –  the situation will remain unchanged. 

This doesn’t augur well for the global climate. 

Would the rest of the world be able to make up for the prolonged US absence? Would China, the country with the largest CO2 emissions globally, step up to fill in the leadership vacuum? This is particularly urgent as climate change is poised to take a more dangerous turn: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and NASA are predicting a warmer atmosphere, higher sea levels, and alterations in precipitation patterns, with potential consequences like more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and extreme weather events. Together these events make for a catastrophic combination.  The world must act, with or without America – before the climate clock runs out.

Also read: Heatwaves Could Make You Age Faster, USC Study Warns