STIFLING DIALOGUE

As the window to act on climate change narrows and the global order continues to fragment, dialogue must foster cooperation, strengthen collective problem-solving, and emphasize equity and justice

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US President Donald Trump rose to power partly by positioning himself as a foil to global elites, But last week, he attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) - the quintessential gathering of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people ~ in Davos as the star guest. With the largest-ever US delegation in tow, Trump took his aggressive protectionism and transactional diplomacy to the global stage, shifting the debate and, in the process, increasing the risk of irreversible changes to the Earth system.

Instead of discussing issues such as fair taxation, sustainability, social justice, and the energy transition, as delegates have done in the past, they kowtowed to Trump. But Trump’s remarks at Davos should erase any remaining doubt that normalizing his extreme policies and strident positions only encourages him to double down on the geopolitical chaos and uncertainty he is causing. In the last month alone, Trump has withdrawn the US from 66 international organizations, including two of the world’s most important and oldest climate institutions — the 34-year-old UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which serves as the primary forum for climate negotiations, and the UN’s 38-year-old Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which leads the science related to climate change. And just days before his trip to Davos, Trump stunned European leaders by threatening to impose punitive tariffs on allies that oppose his plan to seize Greenland from Denmark.