This year 2024, billions of citizens worldwide are expected to elect their new representatives, with the US elections being the most anticipated for the sustainability industry. Global elections and climate
With the polls closing up between the Democratic representative Kamala Harris and Republican leader Donald Trump. The tides are turning as hope rises across the industry for a democratic election win.
In early July, the industry quoted Harris’s speech on combating climate change and building a clean energy economy as being the a speech that gave hope about the trajectory the US would take if the democrats remain in power.
Harris said ‘Today, I am proud to announce the largest investment in financing for community-based climate projects in our nation’s history [...] we will do that by providing $20 billion to fund climate and clean energy projects across America’
There is a strong danger in politicising climate change and assining it to a political side, say climate experts. Inevitably climate change is a fact and goes beyond politics.
Earlier this summer, The Conference Corner interviewed Sarah Mackintosh, Director of CleanTech for UK, who agreed and said “Cleantech is a cluster of solutions to several problems that intersect now, be it an ailing economy, energy security or the looming spectre of climate change. Cleantech is in itself not up for debate. Rather, it is the solution to several of the topics of debate.”
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the election of the Labour party to the UK government after 14 years Conservative rule has generated hope for the sustainability industry.
UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has put out very positive market signals towards supporting the road to net zero. However, the industry is waiting for the content of the October budget to see if the Labour government’s words align with their actions.
In the UK all eyes are on the autumn budget.
Elections are also going to take place in India, Russia, and Indonesia, some of the world's highest carbon emitters.
In India, a country who is already plagued by the consequences of climate change, Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the general elections, with the opposition alliance coming in close behind.
Local India media outlets revealed that climate change was barely featured in the elections.
However, prior to the opening of the urns, Modi’s government pledged that the country would reach energy independence by 2047 and become central to the manufacture of green technologies. Yet, many in the country criticises this goal to be too unambitious.
Overall, ‘wait and see’ is all the industry can do, but the ‘waiting’ has gone on for too long, claim climate activists. Action needs to happen now.
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