PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 3, 2024
When President Trump first took office in 2017, I was terrified he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. Now I’m terrified he won’t. In November, I assumed my seat in the U.N. climate change meetings at COP29 in Azerbaijan. I once again found myself in an escalated firing line between those fighting for the continuation of their lives and those fighting for the continuation of their lifestyles. Saudi Arabia “came in like a wrecking ball.” Other members of the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) behaved similarly. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods is one voice among many in the industry dissuading Trump’s withdrawal. Woods knows if the United States withdraws, it is effectively sidelined from the process. If the U.S. remains, it can singlehandedly dismantle the Agreement from within. ~ Susana Hancock, international climate scientist, Maine