At the Republican National Convention, climate change is at rock bottom July 17, 2024

Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement during his first term as president.

By AFP - Agence France Presse

At the Republican National Convention, climate change is at rock bottom

Camille CAMDESSUS

Climate change is little more than an afterthought for attendees at the Republican National Convention, who are gathering this week to crown Donald Trump as the party's nominee for the November elections.

"I don't believe all this," said Jack Prendergast from New York, who believes that human activity causes as much damage to the planet as "when a volcano explodes".

"Trump is going to drill pipelines and we will become the world's main energy supplier, in gas and oil," Prendergast told AFP.

And the former president promised the same - adopting the slogan "drill, baby, drill" to sum up his fossil fuel-friendly approach.

Trump, who withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement during his first term, on Monday named a fellow climate skeptic as his running mate: Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

The 39-year-old, who would become Trump's vice president if elected, has previously accused the Democrats of stirring up fears about climate change for political gain.

The two men will run based on a 5,000-word Republican platform, adopted on Monday by the party's delegates, which makes no mention of plans for climate change or renewable energy.

Instead, it promises to end "green" policies that it considers "socialist" and says that the United States will become the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world - a position it already holds, according to official data.

Trump himself has said that he opposes wind energy - a widely publicized alternative to fossil fuels - because he is convinced that it "kills all the birds".

- 'Bright Future' - You are the only one who can benefit from wind energy.

Climate groups such as the Sunrise Movement have criticized the Republican platform, saying that the party "has made it clear that it is happy to make the climate crisis worse".

But for Stephen Perkins, of the American Conservation Coalition - perhaps the only booth at the Republican convention focused on preserving the planet - you have to take Trump's comments with "a grain of salt".

"I think some of his comments are intended to be more entertaining than policy positions," said the 29-year-old, wearing a blue-striped polo shirt.

His organization hopes to show what a "conservative approach to environmental policy and climate policy" looks like, which he says could attract younger voters.

But he admits it's a "slow process", with older Republicans averse to agreeing to action on climate change.

According to a Yale poll published on Tuesday, more than two-thirds of Americans believe that climate change exists.

However, this does not necessarily translate into support for Democratic President Joe Biden, who has promoted several initiatives to combat global warming during his time in office.

Instead, Perkins believes that Biden is at the mercy of a "radical sect" of progressives "who don't engage in nuance". His booth at the convention shows the word "destruction" next to images of left-wing environmental activists throwing soup at a work of art.

If he had his way, he would show that "we have a bright future ahead of us", despite the challenges of climate change, rather than "doom and gloom".

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