![Europe must "resist [Donald] Trump's attempts to dismantle global climate agreements", Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party has said, as the former US president returns to the White House for a second term.](https://sustainabilityonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/trump-2546104_1280.jpg)
Europe must “resist Donald Trump’s attempts to dismantle global climate agreements”, Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party has said, as the former US president returns to the White House for a second term.
As the European Greens noted in a statement, Trump has already announced his intention to roll back climate and social policies, with major oil companies among the donors to his recent election campaign.
Going backwards
“The evidence of the climate crisis is all around us, from the recent floods in Valencia to the fires in Los Angeles,” Cuffe commented. “Over the last five years, the European Union, with strong support from the Greens, has started to turn the Green Deal from vision into action. Trump would take us backwards.
“We are proud of our Europe – a Europe that protects its people and gives the people a voice in political decisions – not the billionaires, as in Trump’s USA. In this time of change, we must continue to show solidarity with the vulnerable, support those threatened by conflict, and uphold European values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.”
‘Respect and unity’
Elsewhere, Vula Tsetsi, the other co-chair of the European Green Party, noted that Trump’s positive relationship with right-wing leaders such as Viktor Orbán, Giorgia Meloni indicates that the US president may seek to “threaten democracy” in the European Union, “and its values of respect and unity.
“He does not believe in multilateralism and cooperation. Trump’s statements on Greenland, Panama and Canada, are colonial, violent, dangerous and driven by economic interests.
“Only a strong European voice can counterbalance these very serious developments. Now is the time for European leaders to stand together and defend European values, multilateralism and democracy. The European Greens are ready to forge alliances with progressive forces in order to counterbalance Trump’s dangerous, anti-climate, anti-democracy, far-right agenda.”
‘A tougher fight’
Elsewhere, Greenpeace said that Trump’s return to power ‘marks a setback for both climate and social action’, with the 47th president stacking his cabinet with executives more focused on profit over planet.
‘Although the fight may have gotten tougher, our commitment to our work is stronger than ever,’ it said. ‘And while the next four years will bring a mixture of resistance and resilience, there remain more than a few reasons for optimism.’ Read more here.
Commenting following the US elections in November, the World Resources Institute (WRI) suggested that Trump may struggle to halt the sustainability transition that has gained momentum in recent years.
“There is no denying that another Trump presidency will stall national efforts to tackle the climate crisis and protect the environment, but most U.S. state, local, and private sector leaders are committed to charging ahead,” Dan Lashof, US director of WRI, commented at the time.
