By Jaidacyn Madrigal, Marketing and Fundraising Coordinator
We’re not going to sugar coat it – electing a climate denying president is a major setback for climate.
The UN recently announced we are in “climate crunch time,” with just 10 years to dramatically change policies to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Our country is just starting to recover from the damage of two major hurricanes that hit the Southeast last month, and California is currently suffering from an intense wildfire season. In the midst of all this – we have chosen a leader who doesn’t care about the health of our planet.
We know what we are up against and we know it will be worse than before – Trump will try to block or eliminate key environmental programs and strip regulations on oil and gas and continue to make the US the largest emitter in the world. We can’t let him do that – which means we have a lot of work ahead of us.
These next 4 years won’t be easy – but nothing worth fighting for ever is. We owe it to future generations to do all we can to prevent Trump from pushing us to the point of no return. Our planet depends on us, youth depend on us, other countries depend on us, and we can’t let them down. We have seen strong people-powered movements win time and time again – and we will win again.
What does Trump’s Presidency mean for the climate?
A second Trump presidency, especially given the Republican control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, will be detrimental to climate action.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has made it very clear what he wants to do – “Drill, baby, drill”. It is not surprising that he is very close with the fossil fuel industry and plans to strip critical regulations and expand oil drilling. He “demanded $1 billion in campaign donations” and in exchange promised to remove environmental regulations.
Project 2025, written by former Trump administration officials, is a policy blueprint that restructures the federal government and could reflect his game plan once in office. If Project 2025 is implemented, offices dedicated to clean energy research within the Department of Energy could be eliminated and the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Weather Service could be significantly reduced or eliminated entirely and replaced with private entities. Trump may withhold funds allocated to build climate-resilient infrastructure against inevitable natural disasters as well as wildfire and disaster relief funds.
What does SanDiego350’s fight look like?
SanDiego350 will work to ensure that California leads the charge on climate action, resisting Trump’s agenda, and serving as a role model for other states.
Right now, the Biden administration is working to secure environmental programs and put regulations in place that will be difficult for Trump to reverse once in office. California is also looking to invest in countering Trump’s agenda and protecting progressive state policies. This is a positive start, we will continue to push democrats at the federal level to lock in regulations and distribute funding before the inauguration on January 20th and will push local and state officials and the governor to take steps that really matter in California, like building transit and electrifying buildings.
Locally, we will be planning a Climate Justice Rally for next spring, to mobilize people to fight the Trump administration’s efforts and continue this fight for climate justice. We also plan to support other causes as this election is devastating to women’s rights, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and democratic institutions.
We will continue to advocate for policies around transit, building electrification, and renewable energy at the local and state level that show we can have cleaner air, better health outcomes, and a safe climate – with a strong economy. Building our people-powered movement is critical – we will vigorously recruit and train an army of volunteers, including youth activists, to fight for our future.
It was strikingly clear that climate was not a key issue for voters in the election; we have a lot of work to do. We plan to ramp up our public outreach and education to increase the amount of people in our movement and to ensure climate is part of the mainstream.
What can you do?
This moment demands that each of us do what we can to protect the people we love and the planet we live on. Now more than ever, we need people to step up and take action! A great first step is volunteering with us, join an SD350 volunteer team by filling out this form. Don’t have extra time in your day to volunteer? You can also donate to support local climate action. Together, we will build this people-powered movement, we got this!