When the next climate summit begins, the most important outcome for the success or failure of the conference has already been determined: who will be the new US president. America's choice will determine whether host Azerbaijan has any chance of making progress at COP29. The USA's appearance is crucial for China's willingness to make stricter climate commitments; many emerging and developing countries in the G77 take their cue from China. If a newly elected President Donald Trump completely withdraws from the Paris Climate Agreement again, there is a risk of far-reaching upheavals.

If he were to become president, that much is clear, Trump would immediately dismantle Joe Biden's climate protection policy, including the large "Inflation Reduction Act" (IRA) subsidy program. What would he do on his first day? “Close the border and drill, drill, drill,” Trump said in an interview in December.

It doesn't have to come to that, but the danger is real. On the way to his presidency, Trump would first have to be nominated as his party's candidate. Although that is considered almost certain, some may still be hoping for a surprise victory for his only remaining competitor, Nikki Haley. Even if the Republican from South Carolina would make a difference in other policy areas, that does not apply to climate policy.

Targeted attack on climate protection at all levels of government

Unlike Trump, Haley does not question the existence of climate change itself. Curiously, however, she does not derive any visibly different policy from this insight: she considers the IRA to be a "communist manifesto", recently emphasized again that she led the country out of the Paris climate agreement during Trump's first presidency and let her supporters know , what energy policy would be expected from her if she became president: "We will put our pipelines into operation, we will build the Keystone pipeline, we will export as much liquefied natural gas as we can."

US climate policy is no longer just about the question of Trump or not - large parts of the Republican Party now almost categorically reject any form of real climate policy. With “Project 2025,” the conservative think tank “Heritage Foundation” presented detailed instructions in time for the start of the election campaign on how a future Republican president could displace climate protection from all areas of government, writes Ella Müller from the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Washington DC Authors systematically identified all government measures that can be interpreted in the broadest sense as a response to the climate crisis - so that they can be dismantled in a targeted manner. The climate crisis as a threat simply plays “no role in the Republican worldview,” said Müller.

So once again a lot depends on one man: Joe Biden.

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The topics of the week

Fields in the North SeaClimate protectors in Norway successfully sue against oil approval.


In the year-long dispute between climate protectors and the oil nation Norway, environmental protection organizations were able to claim a victory. According to the ruling, the permits for three oil and gas fields in the North Sea are invalid.

First record drought, now record wetness and snow: "We're going from one extreme to the other." 


The soil in this country is as wet as it is about once every hundred years, says researcher Andreas Marx. Here he explains how droughts and floods fit together and whether snow helps replenish groundwater reserves.

Heat pumps, electricity tariffs, solar: Poorer households are disadvantaged in the energy transition 


. There are many intelligent solutions to reduce energy costs. But people with low incomes often lack access, a study shows. A rethinking of state funding is therefore necessary.

San Bernardino in Switzerland How a ski area that was thought to be dead is reinventing itself 


. The lifts are circling again above the Graubünden village of San Bernardino, ski huts are being spruced up, a luxury hotel is being built: a Ticino entrepreneur wants to revive a long-abandoned ski area. Can this work?

Dying coral reefs in the Caribbean "Everything is white, white, white" 


A biologist has suggested replacing endangered Caribbean corals with species from the Indo-Pacific. Reef expert Lisa Carne explains why she doesn't think this is a good idea and what really helps.

A23a in the Southern Ocean As the largest iceberg in the world melts,


waves are constantly working on the giant - and have already carved deep caves into the steep wall of the iceberg A23a. Photos from a research ship show how the 4,000 square kilometer block is being crushed.

As a CO₂ storage How biochar is supposed to save the climate - and our soils 


In order to curb global warming, CO₂ must be removed from the atmosphere. Coal, of all things, could play a key role in this. And help farmers and builders.

Stay confident.

Yours, Kurt Stukenberg,


Deputy Head of International Department