# **Detailed SUMMARY of the article "Climate Trumped?" by Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Published in Dawn (Jan 26, 2025):** The article discusses the implications of Donald Trump’s second presidency and his immediate rollbacks of critical climate policies, which threaten global efforts to combat climate change. Among his initial executive orders were actions reversing electric vehicle incentives, promoting extensive oil and gas drilling, halting offshore wind power projects, and re-exiting the Paris Climate Agreement—an international pact aimed at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. These actions come at a time when climate science has never been clearer, with 2024 marking the hottest year on record and devastating climate impacts such as super floods, cyclonic storms, unlivable heatwaves, and forest fires causing global havoc. Economically, the cost of these disasters is enormous, particularly for countries like Pakistan, which face billions in damages. The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement undermines global cooperation on emission reductions and damages America’s credibility as a leader on the climate stage. This creates a leadership vacuum that other countries or states may attempt to fill, but it risks derailing progress. Economically, the US is also jeopardizing its participation in the burgeoning clean energy market, valued at over $2 trillion annually, by pursuing fossil fuel expansion instead. Ironically, Trump’s policies are not rooted in climate denial; they recognize climate-induced phenomena such as Greenland’s melting ice and Panama’s drying canal but prioritize inflation control via fossil fuel exploration, which has historically failed to bring stability. The author stresses that climate change is not a political issue but an existential crisis requiring collective global action and innovative leadership, particularly from nations like the US, to drive a sustainable transformation. Without this shift, the escalating conflict between humanity and nature will lead to irreversible consequences. --- # **Easy/Short SUMMARY**: This article explains how Donald Trump’s new policies could harm global efforts to fight climate change. Trump canceled important plans like promoting electric cars and renewable energy while rejoining fossil fuel expansion. He also pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, a global deal to reduce climate change. Scientists warn that 2024 was the hottest year ever, with disasters like floods and fires affecting the world. These changes hurt the environment and also cost countries a lot of money. The author says the US is risking its leadership role and missing out on clean energy opportunities. Instead of fighting climate change, Trump's actions could make the problem worse. The writer urges nations to work together to protect nature because this is not a fight humans can win against the planet. --- # **SOLUTIONS to the Problem**: ## **1. Rejoining the Paris Agreement** The US must re-enter the Paris Climate Accords to restore global trust and cooperate with other nations to limit global temperature rise. ## **2. Strengthening Renewable Energy Investments** Prioritize investments in wind, solar, and electric vehicle infrastructure to capitalize on the $2 trillion clean energy market. ## **3. International Collaboration on Climate Goals** Coordinate with major polluting nations, including China, to create stronger global strategies for emission reductions. ## **4. Implementing Carbon Pricing** Introduce carbon taxes to discourage fossil fuel use and promote cleaner alternatives, making emissions reduction more economically viable. ## **5. Supporting Climate-Vulnerable Nations** Provide financial and technological support to countries like Pakistan, which are disproportionately affected by climate disasters. ## **6. Encouraging State-Level Leadership** Encourage individual US states to adopt their own climate policies in the absence of federal commitment, as seen in the previous US exit from the Paris Agreement. ## **7. Promoting Green Technology Innovation** Invest in research and development for cutting-edge green technologies to lead the global energy transition. ## **8. Public Awareness Campaigns** Launch education initiatives to raise public awareness about climate change and its economic, environmental, and societal impacts. ## **9. Aligning Policies with Economic Growth** Demonstrate how transitioning to green energy can create jobs and drive economic growth, making it a politically appealing strategy. ## **10. Establishing Accountability Mechanisms** Set up independent bodies to track and report the environmental impact of policies to hold administrations accountable for climate actions. --- # **IMPORTANT Facts and Figures Given in the Article**: - 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history. - Global temperature rise crossed the critical 1.5°C threshold. - The clean energy market was valued at over $2 trillion last year. - The US remains the largest oil producer globally. - Natural disasters like super floods, forest fires, and cyclonic storms are increasing due to climate change. --- # **MCQs from the Article**: ### 1. What year was recorded as the hottest in history? A. 2022 B. 2023 **C. 2024** D. 2025 ### 2. What was the estimated value of the global clean energy market last year? A. $1 trillion **B. $2 trillion** C. $3 trillion D. $4 trillion ### 3. What international climate agreement did the US withdraw from under Trump? A. Kyoto Protocol **B. Paris Climate Agreement** C. Copenhagen Accord D. Geneva Convention ### 4. What is the critical global temperature threshold mentioned in the article? A. 2°C **B. 1.5°C** C. 0.5°C D. 3°C ### 5. Which disasters were highlighted as impacts of climate change in the article? A. Earthquakes and volcanoes **B. Super floods and cyclonic storms** C. Tsunamis and droughts D. Oil spills and deforestation --- # **VOCABULARY**: 1. **Inevitable** (ناگزیر): Certain to happen; unavoidable. 2. **Threshold** (حد): A level or point at which something begins to change. 3. **Precarious** (خطرناک): Not secure; likely to fall or collapse. 4. **Unleashed** (آزاد): Released or set free. 5. **Concerted** (مشترکہ): Coordinated or planned together. 6. **Resilience** (لچک): Ability to recover quickly from difficulties. 7. **Abdication** (دستبرداری): Giving up a responsibility or duty. 8. **Oscillation** (جھول): Movement back and forth or fluctuation. 9. **Premised** (بنیاد پر): Based on an idea or argument. 10. **Exacerbate** (بگاڑنا): To make worse or more severe. 11. **Catastrophic** (تباہ کن): Extremely harmful or disastrous. 12. **Global Consensus** (عالمی اتفاق رائے): General agreement worldwide. 13. **Ironically** (مزاحیہ طور پر): Used to indicate an unexpected or contradictory outcome. 14. **Relentlessly** (بے رحم): Without stopping or weakening. 15. **Existential** (وجودی): Relating to existence or survival. 📢 *Attention Please!* We appreciate your commitment to acquiring knowledge through our summaries. Please be reminded not to remove the attribution label affixed to this article. It is crucial to acknowledge the source and the effort invested in creating this summary. We discourage any unauthorized distribution without proper credit. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 🔍 ⚡ *Explore More Summaries, Solutions, and Vocabulary Meanings!* 💡 Join our WhatsApp Channel for timely and comprehensive summaries of the latest articles, along with well-crafted solutions and helpful vocabulary meanings. Click the link below to join now: 🔗 [Dawn Article Summaries](https://cssmcqs.com/dawn-editorials-articles-summary-for-students-pdf-download/) *WhatsApp Channel Link* https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va7tT3o35fLnJeFbpS2y dawn.com Climate Trumped? Malik Amin Aslam Khan 5–6 minutes THE inevitable has happened to a world which was bracing for the unpredictable. Trump 2.0 inauguration day was hyped with a flurry of executive orders — almost a fourth of them linked to climate change. The disturbing list includes reversing policies promoting electric vehicles, declaring an energy emergency, unleashing a new wave of oil and gas drilling while cancelling offshore wind power leases and for the second time in the last decade, announcing a US exit from the Paris climate agreement. All these portend a precarious future for a world reeling under the effects of climate change. The science of climate change is clearer now than ever before, and just last month, leading climate scientists raised alarm bells as the world breached the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for the first time and 2024 was logged as the hottest year in recorded history. At the same time, the stark reality continues unabated with climate-triggered super floods, raging forest fires, unlivable temperatures and freak cyclonic storms forcibly gate-crashing the resilience of most countries. Most importantly, the associated economic costs of this unleashed fury are following suit by burdening impacted countries, like Pakistan, with billions in unbearable climate damages. Amidst this raging whirlpool of interlinked consequences, the politics around climate change has remained lethargic. Like Covid, it demands a concerted and coordinated global consensus. The Paris Climate Accords of 2015 garnered it around a bottom-up model with each of the 195 countries, including the US, ‘voluntarily’ contributing towards the goal of trying to keep the global temperature rise below the consequential threshold of 1.5°C. The consensus was built on trust and a promise of climate finance and the momentum of delivery was just beginning to gather pace. The last thing it needed was a staggering climate reversal from the historically largest carbon polluter and one still recovering from the catastrophic California forest fires and the devastating storms, Helene and Milton, hitting it in 2024. America’s exit from the Paris Accords will have serious consequences. The announced US exit from the Paris Accords will, undoubtedly, have serious consequences. Firstly, while it fractures the required global ambition for slashing emissions, it will also be interpreted as an abdication of responsibility, which stands to damage the integrity of the US leadership on the global stage. The erratic oscillation between the ‘green new deal’ and ‘drill baby drill’ will certainly not improve its international reliability. Secondly, it will create a leadership vacuum on the climate stage. The previous exit of the US, although it got reversed before operationalising, clearly saw the rest of the world unifying with China as well as individual US states stepping up the leadership ladder to fill the vacuum. That, in all likelihood, will happen again. Thirdly, the US risks losing out on the associated clean energy boom, estimated at over $2 trillion last year, as it sprints in the opposite direction to the electric mobility and renewable energy transitions happening across the world. Thus, the shock and awe attack on climate change may well backfire. Another surprising aspect is that this reversal does not seem to be based on climate denial as other aspects of Trump 2.0 are actually premised on the acceptance of climate change. The Greenland push is based on the climate-induced melting of the region, opening up a race to control new trade corridors and the precious natural resources being unearthed. Similarly, the control of the Panama Canal is necessitated by the acceptance of a climate-trigge­red drying up of Lake Gatun, which has rest­r­icted ship movement and is, thereby, compe­lling prioritised control. The only logic driving this swift shift se­­e­ms to be that more drilling will bring down gas prices and control inflation. However, if effective, it would have happened as the US is already the largest oil producer. While this flawed strategy can see many other slips between the cup and the lip, what it certainly threatens to exacerbate is the runaway global temperature rise. It can only be hoped that a rethink will take place. The world critically needs the innovative leadership of the US, with its potential to unleash and globally drive a green and low-carbon transformation. The issue of climate change is not about political posturing or controlling inflation but an unwinnable confrontation between humanity and nature. The world needs to collectively get off the warpath with nature and restore the delicate balance which has been disturbed. Otherwise, nature will relentlessly continue to react. This is not a war that can be won or a deal that can be sealed. The writer, a member of the governing board, SDPI, is a former minister of climate change. [email protected] X: @aminattock Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2025