Trump’s focus: Drilling for oil, not saving the planet. Credit: Shutterstock

By Baher Kamal
MADRID, Nov 13 2024 (IPS)

During his electoral campaign, incoming U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted that the U.S. holds more oil reserves than any other country, even surpassing Saudi Arabia. In this context, he openly encouraged big businesses to tap into these reserves with the words: ’Drill, baby, drill.’

The US president-elect has also threatened to impose record tariffs on electric cars’ imports from China, by increasing them between 100% and 200%, and has hinted at higher taxes on European vehicles as well.

As the U.S. remains the second-largest global contributor to climate damage after China, do you expect that this year’s climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan (11-22 November) can achieve what all the previous 28 sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have failed to?

In other words, can COP29 come out with effective, verifiable, legally binding decisions to mobilise the amount of financial resources (between 187 and 359 billion US dollars annually) to overcome the current huge adaptation finance gap?

Or shall this yet another expensive gathering end up with the usual ‘politically correct’ Declaration that will be announced as “landmark,” “historical,” although a non-binding step to halt the growing “climate carnage,” as called by the United Nations’ Secretary-General António Guterres.

So far, major political –and financial– world’s leaders decided to skip the summit, as is the case of the United States, the European Commision, and Germany, among others.

The Huge Financial Gap

The life-saving amount required to heal peoples and Nature –187 to 359 billion US dollars annually– is just a fraction of what the world’s military powers spend –annually– on weapons whose function is to kill peoples and Nature.

See what an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament: the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports:

• Estimated global military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, to surpass $2.4 trillion,
• Despite the consequent growth in demand for weapons and continued efforts to meet that demand, arms companies have found it difficult to boost production.
• The 6.8 per cent increase in total military spending in 2023 was the largest rise since 2009 and pushed estimated world spending to the highest level recorded by SIPRI.
• As a result, the global military burden—world military expenditure as a share of world gross domestic product (GDP)—rose to 2.3 per cent.
• Governments allocated an average of 6.9 per cent of their budgets to the military or 306 US dollars per person.
• Estimated military spending increased across all five geographical regions for the first time since 2009.

‘America First’

“The United States remained by far the largest military spender in the world.”

The USA’s expenditure of 916 billion US dollars was more than the combined spending of the 9 other countries among the top 10 spenders, and 3.1 times as large as that of the second biggest spender, China, reports SIPRI, which is ranked among the most respected think tanks worldwide

During the same year -2023- up to 39 of the 43 countries in Europe increased military spending. The 16 per cent surge in total European spending was driven by a 51 per cent rise in Ukrainian spending and a 24 per cent rise in Russian spending.

The Israel–Hamas war was the main driver for the 24 per cent increase in Israel’s military expenditure, adds SIPRI in its Yearbook 2024.

The Big Polluters

The United States and other rich, industrialised powers, like Europe, and Japan, are the largest polluters, as is the case of China and India, while being those with the biggest capability to reduce the financial adaptation gap they have been causing.

See what a global movement of people who are fighting injustice for a more equal world, working across regions in 79 countries, with thousands of partners and allies: Oxfam International unveils in its report: “Carbon Inequality Kills”:

• Super Yachts and Jets of Europe’s Elite Emit More Carbon Pollution in a Week than the World’s Poorest 1% Emits in a Lifetime
• One ultra-rich European takes an average of 140 flights a year, spending 267 hours in the air and producing as much carbon as the average European would in over 112 years.
• In the same period, an ultra-rich European on their yachts emits, on average, as much carbon as an ordinary European would in 585 years.

On the climate adaptation financial gap, the report highlights what it called Make rich polluters pay.

“Climate finance needs are enormous and escalating, especially in Global South countries that are withstanding the worst of climate impacts.

“A wealth tax up to 5% on European multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise 286.5 billion euros annually. , supporting communities to build better lives for themselves, grow resilience and protect lives and livelihoods also in times of crisis.”

The Victims Pay?

Another global movement of more than 10 million people in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses of human rights: Amnesty International, has reported.

“With millions of people already displaced by climate change disasters in Africa, the richer countries most responsible for global warming must agree at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan “to fully pay for the catastrophic loss of homes and damage to livelihoods taking place across the continent.”

Africa’s contribution to the climate carnage amounts to a neglectable 2 per cent.

And the suicidal war on Nature and Humans goes on

On the eve of the COP29, the World Meteorological Organization warned that the year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record after an extended streak of exceptionally high monthly global mean temperatures.

Meanwhile, since the beginning of this century, the world has witnessed more than 2,500 disasters and 40 major conflicts.

A Misleading Claim

By the way, the elected president of the United States’ statement that his country has the largest oil reserves in the world, including Saudi Arabia, is anything but accurate.

According to the WorldAtlas’ list of the top 10 oil reserves by country, Venezuela ranks first with 303 billion barrels, followed by Saudi Arabia with 267 billion barrels, while the United States comes the 9th, with oil reserves amounting to 55 billion barrels.

In short, for the world’s biggest military powers, wars are worth spending far more than saving lifes. And the oil business that kills Mother Nature and all that lives on it, also ranks hight among their top priorities.

‘Drill, baby, drill’