""Protecting the climate and protecting our democracy are inextricably linked," veteran climate reporter and activist Bill McKibben said last week at a Covering Climate Now press briefing on covering the climate story in 2026. President Donald Trump "is in many ways operating as a political arm of the oil industry," McKibben added, "and coming to grips with his authoritarian impulse is going to be crucial to ever getting any climate action.""
"The struggle for democracy-in the streets of Minneapolis, Tehran, and beyond-is but one high-profile issue with a strong climate-change connection. Internationally, Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran possess sizable amounts of oil whose burning could push Earth's climate past catastrophic tipping points. In the United States, the surging cost of electricity produced by coal and gas is shaping up as an issue in congressional elections in November that could either counter or reinforce Trump's authoritarianism."
Protecting the climate and protecting democracy are inextricably linked. Authoritarian impulses aligned with fossil-fuel interests impede the chance of meaningful climate action. Greenland’s two-mile-thick ice sheet represents a strategic asset whose melting would raise sea levels and transform lives globally. Large oil reserves in Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran could drive the climate past catastrophic tipping points if burned. Rising electricity costs from coal and gas are becoming a significant political issue in U.S. congressional elections and could influence democratic outcomes. Africa is emerging as a critical laboratory for deploying climate solutions.
Read at The Nation
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