SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan Environmental Society, though they are a non-political organization, remains cautious about the significant shift in the US political landscape after Donald Trump was elected early this month, with the former reality television celebrity promising to roll back and repeal President Joe Biden’s climate policies.
Trump, who has called climate change a hoax in previous interviews, has also appointed former New York representative Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency and fossil fuel advocate Chris Wright as secretary of the Department of Energy.
Zeldin vowed to make immediate deregulatory regulations as EPA administrator once the Trump administration takes over the White House in January next year. Wright founded the oilfield services firm Liberty Energy and is a known climate change denier.
SES Director Peter Prebble told SaskToday that the policies planned by the incoming Trump administration are setbacks in protecting the environment and the fight against climate change. The GOP also holds the majority in Congress — House of Representatives and Senate — and, with Trump’s three appointed associate justices, the Supreme Court.
“I see this as a significant setback for the world regarding protecting our climate from breaking down. I'm worried about the prospect of a global climate breakdown as the global average temperature continues to increase. He's made it very clear that the oil and gas industry in the United States will have free rain to expand. He's signalled that coal-fired generation will remain part of the US electrical generating system. He's signalling a lot of alarming things,” Prebble told SaskToday.
“I think climate scientists worldwide are alarmed by Trump's proposal. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions has to be something that every government in the world, regardless of their ideology, needs to commit themselves to. Indeed, every government wants its citizens to have a good quality of life not disrupted by major climate breakdowns. The international scientific community has warned us for years that we're on the verge of much more severe droughts and flooding because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water and drop it rapidly. In many places around the world, we're at more risk of intensive wildfire seasons and more intense hurricanes, and of course, we're seeing evidence of all that in the last few years.”
He added what Trump had campaigned on and promised to do when he gets sworn in again to lead the world’s powerful nation on Jan. 20, 2025, would weaken climate change initiatives, like pulling out of the Paris Agreement, an international document signed by 195 countries where the aim is reducing global gas emissions.
“His [Trump] election is a big setback given that the US is the world's second most significant greenhouse gas emitter. He's essentially signalling that the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the US is now out the window and that he wants to pull out of the Paris Agreement,” said Preble.
“The fact that those emissions will not be reduced as President Biden promised threatens the global community. He's [Trump] indicating that he wants to tear up a lot of environmental regulations. He did much of this last time like he weakened at least a hundred different environmental regulations.”
Prebble added that Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the EPA, also sent a clear signal that the incoming administration will do a lot of deregulation and roll back policies that will harm the environment.
“That [Zeldin’s appointment] was quick. My opinion is Zeldin is not qualified to hold this role. He's been appointed to weaken the EPA significantly, and I guess that a lot of very well-qualified staff will likely exit the agency because they don't want to be part of seeing a plan to deregulate it. Zeldin is talking about restoring US energy dominance, and of course, that's a signal for weakening environmental protection,” said Prebble.
He said that what the SES could do for now is campaign to protect the environment locally, as they would continue pressing the Saskatchewan provincial government to take climate change seriously and to invest in renewable energy in a big way, including wind and solar.
“That needs to be the case in Saskatchewan. This [climate change] needs to be a non-partisan issue. We might debate how best to do it regarding energy generation options, but we shouldn't discuss the urgent need to achieve profound greenhouse gas emission reduction on an urgent basis. That needs to be something that all governments of all ideologies agree is necessary. Then, we can debate exactly how we will go about it. There shouldn't be a debate about the objective,” said Prebble.
“Wind and solar energy have become cheaper than investing in new coal, oil and gas. There have been such substantial price drops. I think wind energy will take off across North America despite Trump's efforts to stall it because it's become so economical. It's a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become a cost-effective investment. Interestingly, the US passed the Inflation Reduction Act by the [Biden] administration. Interestingly, one of the significant investments is in clean energy projects.”
Prebble said there have been more than 300 clean energy projects and investments, 215 of which are in Republican-controlled districts compared to 119 where a Democrat has won. Trump pulling the plug on these projects would be unpopular for members of his party and their base.
“I think that many people within the Republican Party will be very nervous about cancelling those projects in their districts that involve creating thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in spending on wind, solar, and electric vehicles. Even though Trump has announced that he's against all these things, if he pulls the plug on them, it's going to have a significant negative economic impact in districts that Republicans hold. So, that may give him some reason to pause,” said Prebble.
