The US presidential elections and the Green Agenda were the subject of the speech of the Nobel laureate American economist and professor at Columbia University, Joseph Stiglitz, at the Economist conference “Eighth Sustainability Summit for SE Europe & the Mediterranean – Re-inventing green leadership: Collectivity vs fragmentation? of Economist Impact”, which takes place in Athens.

As he pointed out, the distinguished economist, the upcoming elections on the other side of the Atlantic, are the most important issue for what is going to happen in the coming years in terms of the global Green Agenda and pointed out the need for global collaborations in the context of the wider geopolitical scene such as this has been formed today.

According to Mr. Stiglitz, even if Donald Trump is defeated, the polarization will still exist, so the fight will continue. As he said: “Trump not only gives a voice to authoritarian leaders but also to everyone who thinks that climate change is a lie”, adding that if he is elected, the consequences at the global level will be very big.

As he explained, the Democratic side sees Climate as an existential threat, however, as he said, their strong political commitments are not accompanied by correspondingly strong policies.

“The gap between the Biden administration and D. Trump’s announcements could not be greater,” Mr. Stiglitz noted, and emphasized that: “Climate change is a global threat and requires global solutions.”

He even recalled that Trump had pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement and has declared that he will do it again as soon as he is re-elected, characterizing this political decision as a colossal failure.

He added that D. Trump does not believe in multi-level cooperation, while he criticized the EU regarding the political options for dealing with the climate crisis.

The American Nobel laureate analyzed the correlations between the US and China, pointing out, among other things, that the Asian country started early industrial policies in relation to the climate crisis, with a focus on electrification. “They had the vision to see that they needed ‘green cars,'” as pollution, especially in Beijing, was deadly.

Trump will be much more aggressive, he doesn’t care about the green transition, he doesn’t understand the macroeconomics, when it comes to trade policy, he said.

Meanwhile, he referred to the social cost of carbon, which runs through all of society, speaking of the need to integrate it horizontally.

The low cost of carbon leads to nothing being done about climate change, he said, while he estimated that in the event of D. Trump’s election, additional steps will be taken back.

Mr. Stiglitz emphasized the need to establish general rules and commitments for both developed and developing countries, in the context of a Green Agenda, as the latter are the ones that may violate these provisions.

In this context, Mr. Stiglitz estimated that only a K. Harris administration could intervene by helping developing countries adapt to green trade and green technologies.

It is noted that during the introduction of his presentation, the American economist made it clear that although he has never been a supporter of defense spending, he now believes that Europe should step up and increase its military spending after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he said.

In the discussion that followed with John Andrews, The Economist, and EKPA professor Andreas Papandreou, SDSN Greece, the focus was on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) initiative, based on which extensive investments are foreseen, with simultaneous support for the weak, which will lead the US to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030. “Delay is harmful on multiple levels,” Mr. Stiglitz said, and expressed the need for Western democracies to formulate a vision that is directly comparable to countries like China.