What do you see as the consequences of Trump’s climate change denial for future generations?
It’s not just Trump. It’s the entire Republican leadership. In the 2016 primaries, every Republican candidate either denied that which is happening or said ‘maybe it is but we shouldn’t do anything about it’. It is an astonishing fact that the most powerful state in human history, the ‘leader of the Free World’, is standing alone in the world in not just refusing to deal with this truly existential crisis but is in fact dedicated with considerable passion to escalating the race to disaster. And it’s no less shocking that all this passes with little comment. The Republican organization is also labouring to turn the US itself into a disaster area by removing controls on toxic chemicals and pursuing other destructive policies – all part of the unleashing of its most savage component to serve their constituency of extreme wealth and corporate power, whatever the impact on others. A truly shocking spectacle. How much damage they can do to the environment is not clear because other factors, even market forces, are countering their dedication to destruction. But it will not be slight. Effective actions require mobilization and serious commitment at every level, from international co-operation to individual choices.
