Donald Trump would only have to take two or three steps, then he could talk to her. When the US President arrives on Monday with his entourage in the UN building in New York, Greta Thunberg is also waiting in the lobby. But Trump ignores the young climate activist, he probably does not even notice her at that moment. Instead, he raves in front of the cameras of the "fantastic" US economy and laments about a supposed "witch hunt" because of his questionable Ukraine phone call.
Spatially Thunberg and Trump separate only a few meters at this moment, in terms of content they are worlds. It is not even that the 45th US President climate protection is not interested. On the contrary, he gives priority to the subject - by reversing as many environmental laws as possible from his predecessor and eliminating annoying requirements for companies.
The government has already overturned 85 provisions or is about to do so, according to the New York Times. 24 amendments alone concern emissions and air pollution, such as the government's refusal to enforce the ban on climate-damaging HFC refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioning systems that has been in place since 2015.
In video: When Greta Thunberg met at climate summit on Donald Trump
Andrew Hofstetter / REUTERS
But even in America, resistance to the laissez-faire policy is forming at the expense of the environment. Above all, the states governed by the Democrats are decoupling. Twenty-five governors, including three Republicans, have joined forces to form the "American Climate Alliance," which pledges to abide by the pledges, despite Trump's US exit from the Paris Climate Agreement. "The alliance states represent more than half of the American population, 40 percent of the emissions and an economy of 11.7 trillion dollars," said the top politicians combative.
Trump's most dangerous opponent is California governor Gavin Newsom. The fifth-largest economy in the world is the proof that one can connect ambitious climate goals "with a record growth of the economy," boasts the former mayor of San Francisco.
At the center of the dispute are California's stricter emission levels for cars. Trump has summarily denied the liberal west coast state, which he has already targeted, the right to set their own limits. California has filed a lawsuit with support from 22 other states. Consumers do not want it, consumers do not want it, our economy will not like it, our air will suffer, it's about giving 'Big Oil' what it wants, 'Newsom said on Twitter. Presidents before.
The car industry wants planning security
In fact, the auto industry has signaled that it does not want the trumpeting of the standards promised by Trump. The industry prefers planning security, and it fears that America will become the chaotic patchwork of emissions control. That's why Ford had
Unlike Trump, many US corporations have realized that they can not oppose the zeitgeist. More than 70 companies, including Microsoft
Many Americans are dawning on devastating hurricanes and floods that global warming is also affecting them. In a recent poll by research institute Gallup, only 57 percent said they were worried about energy costs - the lowest ever.
At the same time, nearly three quarters of respondents expressed concern about the state of the environment. And in a recent Washington Post poll, around 80 percent say climate change is man-made. They are obviously ahead of their president, who in 2012 called the phenomenon an invention of the Chinese.
This is not yet a popular uprising
In the US too, it is mainly young people who put pressure on them. While Trump talked about religious freedom in New York, angry climate activists in the capital Washington blocked road crossings. However, this is not a popular uprising - and as long as his base is behind him, Trump will not change course.
Unlike the Democrats, the issue is hardly present in the Republican campaign. Only 23 percent of party supporters are bothered by Trump's climate policy - after all, that is far more than the nine percent who generally criticize his conduct of office.
On Monday, Trump had only one sentence left for the climate summit: "I firmly believe in clean air and clean water."
Greta Thunberg was no longer there. She had already announced before her trip to the United States that she did not want to waste time meeting with Trump.