On the 20th of January Donald Trump celebrated his first year as leader of the United States. Environmental, social and foreign policies: here’s an overview of Trump’s first year.
Will Donald Trump keep his promises? Who will he choose to staff his government? What changes will he make first? These were the questions that everyone in the United States and around the world was asking about a year ago. At the time, the American billionaire had won the elections held on the 8th of November 2016 and was waiting to take Barack Obama’s place in the White House and begin his adventure as leader of the nation on the 20th of January. After Donald Trump’s first year in office the consequences of the 45th president’s choices – especially those affecting the environment and social issues – are undoubtedly dire.
Donald Trump’s most shocking decision was announced in June, in front of the international press gathered in the White House garden.
On the 1st of June the American president said that withdrawing from the Paris Agreement was necessary “in order to fulfil my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens”. This treaty was the result of an agreement between the 195 countries that participated in the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) held in Paris, France in December 2015. It represents a milestone in efforts to prevent an environmental catastrophe by limiting the increase of global average temperatures to two degrees Celsius by the end of the century, compared to pre-industrial levels.
It will take quite a while before the US can actually withdraw from the Agreement: article 28 determines that there has to be a three-year margin in addition to a one year notice period to abandon the treaty. By then, Trump’s mandate will have reached its end. Nevertheless, the consequences from a practical and political standpoint are already clear. Starting from the issue of state funding: in all likelihood the United States will limit funding to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, the group of experts created in 1988 as an initiative of the G7 that studies climate change) and the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (which organises the COPs, among other things).
In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 29 dicembre 2017
On the other hand, in political terms Trump’s decision has had a boomerang effect, at least in part: the “other”, more progressive and environmentalist fraction of the country has challenged the president through the We are still in initiative. A coalition made up of 125 cities, 9 states, 902 businesses and 183 universities that intends to abide by the commitments set by the Paris Agreement.
Two other controversial environmental measures concern Alaska, in the Arctic region. First off, in March of last year Trump received Congress’ approval to lift the ban on hunting for predator control that had been adopted by Obama. He even made it legal to shoot grizzly bears, black bears, wolves and coyotes from aeroplanes, as well as shooting cubs in their dens.
Then, in November a chill went down the spine of every environmentalist on the planet, when the White House announced it would revive oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, even though Alaska is one of the most environmentally vulnerable areas in the world: just think of the disaster that took place on the 24th of March 1989, when it was devastated by the shipwreck of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker. As it sunk it spilled 42 million litres of crude oil, causing one of the worst environmental catastrophes in history.
Another one of Donald Trump’s principal “environmental” policies was to drastically reduce the size of two protected areas in the state of Utah, decision announced at the beginning of December. This means we’ll have to say goodbye to 8,000 square kilometres of protected areas and face all the resulting consequences on the local ecosystem, inhabitants and wildlife. The two “mutilated” areas are the Bears Ears National Monument – established just a year ago by former president Obama to “protect this cultural legacy and ensure that future generations are able to enjoy and appreciate these scenic and historic landscapes” – and the Grand Staircase. They were respectively reduced by around 85 and 50 per cent.
On the subject of energy, Trump’s decision to maintain one of the promises he made during his campaign has been very far-reaching: reviving projects for new oil pipelines on US soil. A few days after he took office, the president declared that he had signed the paperwork to put the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines back on the agenda.
According to president Trump’s statements, the construction of the two structures will create 28,000 jobs” and “should be made in the United States”. The impact on employment is yet to be confirmed, but one thing is certain, that Keystone XL will transport what environmental NGOs consider “the world’s dirtiest oil”: that extracted from the Alberta tar sands in Canada. The American president has also given new life to the coal industry. The US delegation that attended the COP 23 held in Bonn, Germany organised a convention to present the concept of “clean coal” to the world.
The news of a proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan dates back to October last year. This regulation was strongly wanted by Obama, and it entailed power plants reducing CO2 emissions by 32 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2030. This decision was announced with conviction by climate change denier and fossil fuel enthusiast Scott Pruitt, who Donald Trump put in charge of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) after announcing drastic budget cuts. The New York Times described Pruitt as “a man who is a hero to conservative activists, one of a group of Republican attorneys general who formed an alliance with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda”.
The choice of Secretary of State was made following a similar logic: Trump gave this key position in Washington’s administration to Rex Tillerson, who until recently was at the head of ExxonMobil, the largest US oil company (and the sixth in the world).
Finally, in retracing Donald Trump’s first steps as president the last mention on the subject of the environment goes to the recommendation on mining signed on the 24th of August. The American billionaire declared his will to reduce the boundaries of “national monuments” (protected areas). According to the national press, at least 27 of these are at risk. The Washington Post id