The current United States position on the future of the sustainable economy “is not only wrong, it is irresponsible,” former vice president Al Gore has said.
“It is nothing short of a tragedy that one of the world’s most dynamic economies will be retreating as the low-emissions technologies of the future are implemented and commercialised everywhere else,” Gore, the chairman of Generation Investment Management, commented, as the sustainable investment management firm published its ninth Sustainability Trends Report.
The latest edition of the report seeks to answer the question of ‘where the world stands’ in the transition to a low-emissions economy, focusing in particular on the consequences of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from climate commitments, such as the Paris Agreement.
‘Stick together’
“In the face of such recklessness [by the United States], the rest of the world must not cower, but stick together and show fortitude against the bullying and threats of the fossil fuel industry and its political allies,” Gore added.
“It is imperative that investors, business leaders and government officials harness their power to embrace the opportunity created by the sustainable solutions at our fingertips and get the climate crisis under control.”
The US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will take formal effect in January 2026, and ‘could not come at a worse time for the rest of the world’, the report notes, coming in the midst of a cycle that is supposed to see nations set out ambitious emissions reductions targets by 2035.
Emissions targets
As COP30 in Belém, Brazil, approaches, many countries have still to submit their emissions reduction plans, and those that have show a ‘distinct lack of ambition in setting new emissions targets’, according to the report.
Describing COP30 as a critical moment, the report adds that the decision of the US to walk away from climate action could backfire, as it could prompt other nations to ‘see that it is in their interest to stick together against US bullying and threats. The best possible outcome would be an ambitious series of national pledges to continue cutting emissions and accelerating the transitions to lower emissions and restored nature.’
Transition efforts
The report also examines the current status of transition efforts in sectors such as Power; Transportation; Buildings & Industry; People, Land & Food; and Financing the Transition.
On the latter point, the report notes that public finance for the sustainability transition currently faces ‘enormous strain’, however the fact that clean energy investment already exceeds fossil fuel spending at a ratio of two to one is encouraging.
‘Politicians have time and again made a promise to the vast majority of people around the world who want to see climate action that emissions would peak and then begin to fall, and they have yet to redeem that promise,’ the report adds. ‘COP30 is a chance to begin to follow through.’ Read more here.
