Two experts weigh in

by Sharon Wilke

Editor’s Note: This is the second in an occasional series on our Trump-accelerated environmental and climate crisis. Part one covered the administration’s attacks on science — why we know there’s a climate crisis.

Climate change is real and getting worse, affecting all of us either directly or indirectly and putting the future of a livable Earth at an ever higher risk for our kids and future generations. The evidence is solid, both scientifically and in what we see for ourselves here in the United States and around the world: more frequent and severe storms, wildfires, floods, killing heat waves and droughts, drying aquifers, melting glaciers, and rising seas that are threatening lives and livelihoods — and sweeping away entire communities.

The effects are local, too. In September, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management released the ResilientCoasts Initiative, a long-awaited plan responding to findings that sea level rise, storm surge and erosion in the Boston area will affect 3 million residents by the end of the century if nothing is done. 

Trump’s all-out war on climate 

As if tackling climate change isn’t tough enough, the Trump administration is taking expansive steps to impede efforts aimed at stopping or slowing global warming and transitioning away from fossil fuels to greener energies. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders against climate change mitigation and for fossil fuel use. 

He hasn’t stopped since, eliminating federal departments and programs, websites and vital data, firing experts, installing anticlimate agency heads, and pulling virtually all federal funding for research and work related to climate issues. 

Now, while Trump is moving to eliminate the critically important “Endangerment Act,” which previously enabled the EPA to control greenhouse gas emissions, he is also actively pushing for more oil, gas and coal use. He has called for greatly expanding oil and gas drilling off U.S. coasts and opening up millions of acres of public lands to the fossil fuel and forestry industries.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Trump said climate change “is the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” by “stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes.” He added, “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.” 

Trump’s most dangerous moves – local to global

I asked Jennifer Spence, a climate and sustainability expert who directs the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center’s highly respected Arctic Initiative, what she sees as the Trump administration’s most dangerous moves against climate efforts. 

“The Trump administration’s efforts to silence science, roll back environmental protections, and withdraw from global climate cooperation threaten not only our ability to fully understand climate risks but also the momentum required for effective mitigation and adaptation,” Spence said.

However, she added, “what worries me most is how the actions being taken by the Trump administration are causing organizations and people to self-censor or lower their ambitions at the very moment when we need people to step up.” 

That is exactly what is happening in Massachusetts. In October, Gov. Maura Healey joined a bipartisan group of 13 governors in writing a letter to congressional leaders urging Congress to deregulate permitting of energy infrastructure, a move that would give a green light to expanding fossil fuel use in our state and nation. And in November, a Massachusetts House committee bill calling for a rollback of the state’s 2030 climate commitments moved to the Senate. It is currently on hold.

These are major red flags, especially in a state that has long been seen as a leader in efforts to mitigate climate change. What does this signal for other states?

Long-range changes in political norms

Robert Stavins, the A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, said he is greatly concerned about Trump’s attacks on democracy and the “political norms” his administration is creating that won’t be easy to change.

He cited as examples the naming of clearly incompetent people to high-level positions (including climate-related ones) — people whose only qualification is their loyalty to him and his agenda — and his push for redistricting between census years to influence election outcomes, a change Stavins thinks will become permanent and have serious ramifications. 

Stavins, who has been involved in the annual U.N. climate conferences for more than 20 years, noted that the lack of U.S. participation in the recent COP30 international climate conference in Brazil reduced potential progress. While other countries made some advancements in climate agreements, Trump’s anticlimate stance emboldened fossil fuel friendly countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to be more “outspoken and aggressive” at the conference, Stavins said, resulting in a decision not to include a symbolic but important statement in the final report that would have signaled a global move away from fossil fuels. 

What groups can do locally and through transnational alliances

“One of our greatest strengths in countering these [climate-related] setbacks is the power of community,” Spence said. “Climate action has never rested solely with governments. Across the country and around the world, a diverse ecosystem of experts, NGOs, Indigenous organizations, businesses, youth leaders, and local practitioners continues to advance practical solutions every day.”

Spence argues that grassroots networks “are uniquely positioned to adapt, mobilize quickly, and connect efforts across multiple levels.” And, “by reaching out to climate advocacy groups in other countries — especially those operating in more receptive political environments — U.S. activists can elevate global efforts, learn from successful policy innovations, and build transnational alliances that help sustain momentum even when federal leadership falters.” 

Persuasion can work — but avoid saying “climate”

Stavins believes that “the best thing to do is to use persuasion” — not about “climate change,” but about, for example, the affordability of energy. Frame it completely in other ways, he says, and don’t even use the word “climate.” He suggests reaching out to leaders and residents of red and purple states with arguments that emphasize health and safety for themselves and their children. 

Residents of states with coal mining, for instance, can remind their neighbors and leaders that emissions greatly increase lung issues and mortality among local children and adults because of the potent, localized air pollutant that coal mining emits: particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less, commonly known as PM2.5. Sea level rise, with its disastrous effects, is another issue that can influence many people and businesses in coastal areas to take action. 

Spence agrees, saying, “Grassroots groups can drive real impact by focusing on climate actions that cut across political divides (e.g., reforestation, sustainable agriculture, reduced waste and lower consumption, and [using] green technologies). These concrete, manageable efforts may seem small on their own, but together they add up to meaningful progress. By championing these solutions and strengthening community-led climate leadership, we can build durable, distributed climate resilience — no matter what happens in Washington.” 

Actions you can take now

Groups can make a real difference by working together on one or more of the threats to our climate. There are many ways to go about it, including at the state and local level:

• Contact Gov. Healey, State House leaders, and your state reps to voice your deep disappointment and concern regarding the governor’s recent letter encouraging deregulation of energy infrastructure and continued fossil fuel use. 
• Urge state senators and representatives to vote against any move to reduce the state’s climate commitments for 2030. 
• Monitor your community for climate-related actions being considered – and continually urge leaders, including businesses, to move in a climate-friendly manner that focuses on the short- and long-term impacts on residents’ well-being. 
• Keep track of progress by the state’s ResilientCoasts Initiative to ensure the plan moves forward as proposed. Encourage area businesses to support this initiative and take other climate-friendly actions to benefit their own bottom lines. 
• Continue encouraging your U.S. senators and representatives to actively fight administration efforts that negatively affect our climate. 
• The United Nations has an excellent list of actions everyone can take to reduce climate impact. 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the double whammy of climate change and Trump’s intensifying actions, but there is a lot we can do if we haven’t already. That includes staying as informed as possible about what’s happening with climate change and Trump’s actions and sharing that information with others. 

Sharon Wilke is a writer for Indivisible Mass Coalition’s IndivisiBlog and a member of Indivisible LAB.