Hsu featured in Grist article on environmental leaders in the age of Trump
So now what? That’s the question those of us who care about the planet, its people — and, you know, basic human decency — have been asking since Election Day. Donald Trump, a climate denier who has promised to gut the Paris accord, scrap the Clean Power Plan, bring back coal, and roll back pollution restrictions is our next president, and the civil and human rights of so many in this country are threatened. Hateful, violent acts committed in his name continue to populate the news.
If you’re feeling sad, angry, and confused, we hear you.
So as we’ve done before in similar times, Grist turned to politicians, advocates, and other green leaders to ask how we keep working toward climate action, sustainability, and social justice? And what gives them hope, inspiration, or determination in such a trying time?
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Angel Hsu
Yale Data-Driven Environmental Solutions Group Director
A Trump administration spells a grim future for climate governance in the U.S. Yet, like climate change itself, the rest of the world marches on. There are tens of thousands of examples we can point to where non-state (i.e. business) and sub-national entities (i.e. states and cities) are acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, and protect people from the impacts of climate change.
Among the organizations committing to do something about climate change, some major emitters are stepping up to the plate. Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, recently announced that by 2025 it will generate half the energy consumed by its operations from renewable sources. Even fossil fuel companies, including BP, Chevron, and Exxon, are making efforts to reduce operational emissions — lest they go the way of Peabody Energy, which has done nothing to mitigate emissions except for declaring bankruptcy earlier this year. Our analysis includes 1,500 companies representing $32.5 trillion in revenue — more than one-third of the global economy — that have pledged some form of climate action.
