Trump’s politics of hate not the answer to Planetary Crisis

Commenting ahead of Trump’s visit to Scotland, Young Friends of the Earth Scotland Co-ordinator Kate Whitaker said:

“We are protesting Trump’s visit to Scotland to show that we stand against the the things he represents – hate, fear and climate denial. Trump’s regressive and divisive politics have caused chaos and pain for many thousands of people around the world, particularly in the US. From pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement to caging children at the Mexican border and cutting taxes for the rich, Trump has shown he rules only for corporations and the elite.

“Trump is both a product and a symptom of a hyper-capitalist system that’s not working for people or planet. The answers to the planetary crisis lie not in hatred, fear and division, but in shifting away from unsustainable fossil-fuelled economies to renewable energy powered systems that work for communities and the environment. The strength and creativity of the protest response to Trump’s visit is testament to a growing movement of people power leading the way to a just and sustainable future.”

The EU and other industrialised countries are failing to step up to the challenge of climate change. The Scottish Government’s recently published Climate Change Bill has been widely criticised as failing to deliver on the Paris Agreement.

Whitaker added:

“It’s all too easy for world leaders who talk the talk but are failing to walk the walk to hide their own climate inaction behind Trump’s extremes. It is not enough simply to call out Trump’s rhetoric – we need urgent action here in Scotland, and throughout Europe to cut climate change emissions in the next ten years if we are to avoid the worst of its impacts.”

“Young people are leading some of the strongest resistance to the causes of climate change and destructive fossil fuel economy across the world. From young people taking their governments to court for climate policies that sacrifice their future, to the youth-led climate marches that will take place across the world next weekend, young people, and frontline communities, are leading the fight towards a better future.”