US Senator Markey, Global Legislators Tackle Trump 2.0, NDCs 3.0

BAKU, 17 November 2024 – U.S. Senator Ed Markey and lawmakers from Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future discussed yesterday at COP29 the implications of President Trump’s re-election and other developments in the climate and energy policy landscape.

“Donald Trump is going to quit the Paris Agreement, but we are still going to deploy solar and wind. He is going to have to ask red districts to destroy clean energy jobs from the Inflation Reduction Act. Enough are not going to do that. We can get through the next four years.,” said US Senator Ed Markey.

“A fossil-free future has to be the goal. This year has been marked by extreme heat and weather. The new normal means there is no more normal. But the fossil fuel industry is also more vulnerable. The truth is that in Europe and in Asia we are seeing a decline in LNG demand. For the first time we saw investment in solar surpass that of oil,” he added.

Joining Senator Markey at the forum, entitled “A United Path to a Fossil-Free Future: U.S. and Global Legislative Action on Climate”, were members of Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, and Uganda.

“Europe should lead and not shy away from climate action. But we have the same difficulties and right-wing, climate denier movements across our countries. We are together in this fight. We have to work on no-regret measures,” said Austrian MP Lukas Hammer.

“The UN climate process is multilateral, even though we are worried about the next steps of the Trump administration,” said Brazil MP Livia Duarte. “I appeal to American and European parliamentarians to unite with us against the exploitation of fossil fuels, especially in the Amazon.”

“Climate change knows no boundaries. International cooperation is very important. Agreements like the UN climate convention will not work without good national policies, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions,” said Uganda MP Byika Lawrence Songa.

“There is an urgent need to take better advantage of legislative opportunities in global and regional ways to advance the climate agenda, in particular, and to fight the ecological crisis, in general. These are pluralistic spaces that increasingly include more assembly members with the political will to move forward,” said Bolivia Senator Cecilia Requena.

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The Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future is a global network of over 800 legislators across 96 countries.

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