The following is an op-ed excerpt from Earth.org, authored by Emelie Y. Jimenez. You can read the full version here.
At last year’s COP30 meeting in Belém, Brazil, delegates from nearly all countries came together to confront the accelerating realities of climate change. They arrived with plans, partnerships and most importantly, a willingness to act together. Notably, one country was missing: the United States.
As the devastating reality of climate change continues to seep into every major world decision, the gap between what the world needs and what the US is willing to contribute is widening. The cost will not be just political. It will be human. It will be cultural.
On his first day back in office in January 2024, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement. But the damage didn’t stop there. A broad “reevaluation” of foreign aid led to the unprecedented dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). More than 80% of the agency’s programs were terminated, with the small number of those retained transferred to the State Department. Billions of dollars in climate-related development projects were zeroed out. Local partners were left in limbo and one of the world’s most established engines of long-term climate resilience simply vanished.
Read further here.
