{"id":353975,"date":"2024-12-11T17:29:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353975"},"modified":"2024-12-11T17:29:42","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:29:42","slug":"claim-president-trump-is-the-product-of-the-climate-doom-loop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353975","title":{"rendered":"Claim: President Trump is the Product of the Climate Doom Loop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, Trump should have told voters how climate change drives inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A \u2018doom loop\u2019 of climate change and geopolitical instability is beginning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: December 9, 2024, 11.21pm AEDT
Laurie Laybourn<\/a>\u00a0Visiting Fellow, Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter
James Dyke<\/a>n Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a common refrain to say that geopolitics gets in the way of climate action. From the war in Ukraine to trade tensions, each year seems to bring another immediate priority that diverts focus from the imperative to act on climate change. 

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a vicious circle. Climate change is making geopolitics less stable, which harms climate action. This will worsen climate change, meaning more geopolitical instability, and so on. The risk is that this \u201cdoom loop\u201d runs faster and faster and ultimately derails our ability to phase out fossil fuels fast enough to avoid the worst climate consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate-flation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent election of Donald Trump offers a potential case study of how this doom loop could be beginning to emerge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years leading to the election, the US experienced its highest rates of inflation in over four decades. While inflation eventually fell, many Americans couldn\u2019t cope with far higher prices<\/a>. Trump made inflation a major focus of his campaign and it\u2019s clear it played a role<\/a> in his victory. What he didn\u2019t mention was how climate change is increasingly a factor driving inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, the link between climate change, inflation, and politics is a \u201cweak signal<\/a>\u201d of how the consequences of climate change can frustrate our collective ability to tackle the causes of climate change. In a recent academic paper, we called this \u201cderailment risk<\/a>\u201d, the risk that the world ultimately cannot stick to a path that rapidly phases out fossil fuels and avoids the worst climate outcomes.\u00a0

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-doom-loop-of-climate-change-and-geopolitical-instability-is-beginning-244705<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I just can\u2019t get past the fact 10s of thousands of kids will have their understanding of the world shaped by these people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On one hand they claim people are overlooking the impact of climate change on inflation. Then they immediately go on to say climate change is a weak signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, people are overlooking climate driven inflation if it is a weak signal. The majority of the inflation people are currently experiencing clearly has other causes, such as skyrocketing energy prices caused by punitive climate activist political attacks against fossil fuel companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obvious followup question is, will global warming become a strong signal on any timescale any of us care about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick glance at Earth\u2019s paleo history shows us how unlikely it is that climate change will ever be an issue we need to care about, on any reasonable timescale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, the Earth is currently way too cold, not too hot. We are all locked in the Late Cenzoic Ice Age<\/a>, an ice age which began 34 million years ago, and shows no signs of releasing its grip<\/a>. The Earth has thrived in much warmer conditions than today, and with much higher CO2 levels than today. There is substantial evidence the biomass carrying capacity of the Earth has been substantially degraded by the current ice age, compared to previous warm epochs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Study: Ancient Fish Thrived During PETM Extreme Global Warming<\/a><\/blockquote>