11/11/2016

Trump election will not derail our global climate treaty.

With news that climate change denier Donald Trump has won the US election, the imperative for countries such as New Zealand to affirm their commitment to the Paris Agreement has become stronger and more urgent than ever.

“If the United States is no longer going to be a major state actor on climate change, New Zealand needs to scale up our ambition,” Alex Johnston, New Zealand Youth Delegation says.

“We welcome the news that Australia has ratified the Paris Agreement. It’s time for countries like ours to show our leadership and commitment to taking collaborative action to tackle the causes and impacts of climate change both in a global context but also, importantly, domestically.”

Activists at COP22 and across the globe have acted in response to President-elect Trump’s plans to “cancel” the Paris Agreement, amongst other detrimental environmental policies.

India Logan-Riley, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga for the Indigenous Peoples Caucus at COP22, says “the solidarity shown by indigenous peoples around the world in support of our Sioux sisters and brothers at Standing Rock who are fighting to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline is the largest movement of its kind in my lifetime. These bonds that we form now will carry us forward beyond the disaster of a Trump presidency. Our increasing collective action in the face of climate change is what will define us when this history is told to future generations. This election will not change this”

Johnston adds “While Trump’s election undermines the momentum behind US climate policy, the global momentum behind climate change action will continue. Now, more than ever, a global response to climate change requires domestic action.”

Trump’s stance on climate change will not affect the legally binding nature of the Paris Agreement as it has entered into force and under the terms of the agreement, any withdrawal would take four years.

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