President Trump warned us that there’d be so much winning that we’d get tired of all the winning.
And while last week was consumed, as usual, with the sideshow of another one of Mr. Trump’s impetuous tweetstorms, the ledger is indeed showing a lot to celebrate.
Some headlines:
Germany’s G20 presidency dramatically weakened a climate action plan, gutting it of ambitious language and defining gas, and potentially even some coal power, as “clean technologies”, in an attempt to appeal to U.S.President Donald Trump.
The action plan was intended to be agreed at this week’s Hamburg G20 summit. Climate Home has seen two versions, drafted in March and May of this year. The latter shows the degree to which the German presidency has bent to the will of the Trump White House.
Several elements that have been removed in the May draft are:
- A 2025 deadline for the end of fossil fuel subsidies
- References to the risk of “stranded assets”
- A call for “the alignment of public expenditure and infrastructure planning with the goals of the Paris Agreement”
- A push for carbon pricing
- A commitment to publish mid-century de-carbonisation blueprints by next year
- A pledge to develop a “profound” climate plan for multilateral development banks
- Seven references to the U.N.’s 2018 review of nationally-determined contributions
- 11 references to the 2050 mid-century pathway for net zero emission
- 16 mentions of infrastructure de-carbonisation
“The U.S. massively weakened the language in the energy part of the action plan,” one source with knowledge of the negotiations said. “It pushed for references to so-called ‘clean’ fossil fuels and made it less explicit that the energy transition has to be built on energy efficiency and renewables.”
This is indeed called “winning” (though actually the hypocritical Germans probably secretly desire all of these changes themselves, because they know their silly greenery has hit the wall). Maybe this next story has something to do with it:
By David Blackmon
If you hadn’t heard, the Trump administration has declared this week to be “Energy Week,” a week during which the President and his senior officials are focusing on the theme of “U.S. Energy Dominance.” Not “energy independence” or “energy security,” both themes past presidential administrations have focused upon – “energy dominance.”
So what does it all mean?
Can the United States actually achieve it? Good questions. . .
The full article walks through the angles, but the short answer is Yes! Winning!
Tired of all the winning yet? Wait—there’s more:
. . . Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and Mr. Trump have similar views on migration and climate change and share a suspicion of international bodies and globalisation.
The president also backed Brexit and predicted the further break-up of the EU. His dealings with the rebellious, right- wing governments of Central Europe will be watched closely by Brussels.
Let the sprouts in Brussels stew, though it’s hard to get any mushier than they are already.
Some other winning headlines:
You might well think that working for The New York Times is humiliating enough, but I suppose getting laid off by the Times really is more humiliating. Meanwhile, CNN’s ratings are starting to slump again.
Mr. Hayward’s essay originated at www.powerlineblog.com