COLUMN: Trump Undermines Climate Action, and America Is Set Back Twenty Years in a Single Day

What’s Changing Starting Tomorrow

Starting Thursday, vehicle emissions standards will be suspended. The result: more polluting cars that are cheaper to produce but far more costly for society. The EPA promises savings of $2,400 per vehicle for consumers. A windfall? Not really. Because these savings will be more than offset by rising healthcare costs—asthma, cardiovascular disease, and premature deaths linked to air pollution. Not to mention the impact on the climate: the United States, already behind on its targets, will see its carbon footprint skyrocket. And as if that weren’t enough, Trump has also announced the U.S. withdrawal from 66 international organizations deemed “useless,” some of which were specifically working on climate cooperation. American isolation is only getting worse, at the very moment when the world needs solidarity in the face of the ecological crisis.

We hear talk of “freedom,” “sovereignty,” and “defending American interests.” But what freedom is there in breathing polluted air? What sovereignty is there in a country where wildfires ravage entire states, where coastlines are threatened by rising sea levels? Trump and his supporters are playing with fire, both literally and figuratively. They are turning America into a laboratory for unbridled capitalism, where nature is nothing more than a resource to be exploited, and where the future is nothing more than a negligible variable. And the most tragic thing is that millions of Americans, brainwashed by propaganda, are cheering them on. They believe they are defending their way of life, when in fact they are sealing their own fate.

When Facts No Longer Matter

To justify its repeal, the Trump administration relies on a fallacious argument: greenhouse gases are not “pollutants” in the traditional sense, because their effects are “indirect and global.” This is a semantic sleight of hand that defies common sense. The scientific community, however, is unanimous: global warming is a reality, and it is caused by human activities. In September 2025, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reaffirmed that the evidence for climate change was “undeniable” and that the “Endangerment Finding” was based on sound science. It doesn’t matter. For Trump, science is just another opinion—one to be dismissed when it’s inconvenient. And when the courts step in—as legal challenges are already mounting—he’s counting on an increasingly conservative Supreme Court to rule in his favor.

We have entered an era where facts no longer carry more weight than beliefs. Where a mocking tweet about “global warming” in the middle of winter is enough to discredit decades of research. Where a single man, armed with his contempt for the truth, can sweep away years of progress with a single gesture. It’s dizzying. And terrifying. Because if science no longer matters, if experts are silenced, if institutions are exploited, then nothing protects us anymore. Nothing stops us from sinking into chaos. I sometimes wonder just how bad things will have to get before people finally open their eyes. A deadly heat wave? A city wiped off the map by a hurricane? How many disasters will it take for the obvious to become clear?

When the Historically Largest Polluter Fails to Deliver

The United States is the largest historical contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Its responsibility is immense. Yet under Trump, the country is turning its back on its international commitments. Worse still, it is sabotaging the efforts of others. In 2025, emissions reductions stalled in Europe. In China, the energy transition is sputtering. Everywhere, governments are hesitating, dithering, and backtracking. And when America—which should be leading by example—chooses to regress, the entire global balance is thrown off course. Developing countries, already the primary victims of climate change, no longer have any reason to make an effort. Why deny themselves growth when the rich pollute without a second thought? The message sent by Trump is clear: “After us, the deluge.”

There was a time when America embodied hope, progress, and the ability to rise to the most immense challenges. Today, it embodies resignation, selfishness, and cowardice. It betrays not only its own citizens but the entire world. And the saddest part is that this betrayal no longer even provokes outrage. We’re getting used to it. We’re giving up. We’re resigning ourselves to it. As if disaster were inevitable, as if we were doomed to endure, without a word, the decisions of a handful of men blinded by their ideology and their thirst for power. But resignation is the worst kind of defeat. Because as long as there remains a glimmer of hope, as long as a voice is raised to say no, the game is not lost.

Legal Challenges and Civil Society on the Front Lines

In the face of this unprecedented offensive, resistance is mounting. States like California, cities, NGOs, and scientists are all preparing legal challenges. Manish Bapna, president of the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), has already warned: “We’ll see them in court.” The legal battles promise to be long and bitter. But they are necessary. For if the repeal of the “Endangerment Finding” is upheld, it will set a dangerous precedent, paving the way for further rollbacks. Already, rumors are circulating about a challenge to standards on mercury and fine particulate matter. Trump and his team want to methodically dismantle all the environmental protections put in place over the past decades. The question is no longer whether they will see this through, but how far they will go.

I want to believe that this resistance will bear fruit—that the judges, public opinion, and international pressure will ultimately force Trump and his allies to back down. But I also know that time is running out. Every day of delay, every regulation repealed, every additional metric ton of CO₂ emitted—it’s a little more of our future going up in smoke. So yes, we must fight. We must protest, advocate, vote, and voice our anger. But we must also prepare for the worst. Because if Trump wins, if his executive orders stand, if the Supreme Court rules in his favor, then we will enter a new era. An era in which the planet will be nothing more than a battlefield, where the survival of the most vulnerable will be nothing more than a variable to be adjusted. And that, I cannot accept. No one should accept it.

In this war, the media have a crucial role to play. Yet all too often, they merely report the facts without analyzing them or putting them into context. They give a platform to climate skeptics as if their opinions were on par with those of scientists. They repost Trump’s tweets as if they were harmless statements. They normalize the abnormal. And meanwhile, the public, overwhelmed by a flood of contradictory information, no longer knows what to think. Fortunately, some media outlets are holding the line. They investigate, they expose, they explain. But are there enough of them? Are they loud enough? Are they influential enough to counter the Trumpist propaganda machine?

I remember a time when journalism served as a counterweight to power. When reporters challenged the status quo, when editorialists took a stand, when the media enlightened rather than blinded. Today, too many of them are content to go with the flow, chase clicks, and capitalize on emotions. They become unwitting accomplices to disinformation. Yet now, more than ever, we need strong voices, sharp pens, and uncompromising consciences. Because if the media gives up, who will be left to tell the truth? Who will be left to warn, to mobilize, to prevent the worst from happening?

While America is backtracking, Europe is hesitating. The energy transition is stalling. Emissions are on the rise again. Governments, under pressure from lobbyists and populists, are backing away from their commitments. Yet the European Union has the means to act. It has the technology, the resources, and the moral legitimacy. But it lacks courage. It fears the “yellow vests,” elections, and social crises. It prefers half-measures to radical decisions. The result: it is letting Trump dictate the global climate agenda. And that is unacceptable. Because if even Europe—which prides itself on being at the forefront of the fight against global warming—does not take responsibility, then who will?

Europe must choose. Either it stands by, powerless, watching America sabotage global efforts. Or it takes the lead, enforces its standards, sanctions those who fall short, and shows the way forward. This isn’t a question of morality; it’s a question of survival. Because the climate doesn’t negotiate. It doesn’t compromise. It pays no heed to elections or polls. It marches on, relentlessly, reminding us every day that time is running out. So yes, it’s difficult. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it requires sacrifices. But what’s the alternative? To wait until it’s too late? To regret, twenty years from now, that we didn’t act in time? No. A thousand times no. Europe must wake up. Now.

Faced with the scale of the crisis, many citizens feel powerless. What can they do, on their own level, against decisions made in the highest echelons of power? Yet history shows us that major changes often come from the bottom up. Movements like Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion have already forced governments to take action. Climate strikes, protests, legal actions—all of this matters. All of this makes a difference. But we need to go further. We need to turn anger into action; we need to let outrage become a driving force for change. Each of us, in our own way, must take responsibility. Because if we wait for politicians to act, we’ll be waiting a long time.

I understand that feeling of helplessness. I, too, sometimes feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. But I refuse to give up. Because every action counts. Every voice counts. Every fight counts. We are not doomed to simply endure. We are not doomed to stand by passively and watch our planet deteriorate. We have a choice. And we must make that choice every day—in our lives, in our votes, and in our commitments. Because if we don’t, who will?

The repeal of the “Endangerment Finding” is not merely an administrative decision. It is a symbol—a symbol of a world that chooses the short term over the long term, selfishness over solidarity, destruction over preservation. But symbols can be fought. They can be overturned. They can be transformed. Today, Trump and his allies believe they have won. They believe their worldview will triumph. But they are wrong. Because history is not predetermined. Because the future is built, every day, through our choices, our struggles, and our refusal to give in. So yes, the task is immense. Yes, the obstacles are many. But we have no choice. We must fight. For our children. For the planet. For ourselves.

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I don’t know if we’ll manage to reverse the trend, to save what can still be saved. But one thing is certain: we cannot remain silent. We cannot look the other way. We cannot let a handful of men, blinded by their ideology and their thirst for power, decide our future. So yes, I’m afraid. Yes, I’m angry. But I’m also determined. Because as long as there’s still a chance, as long as there’s still a voice to say no, the game isn’t lost. And that voice will be ours.

Signed, Jacques Provost