The Trump administration has had the worst action record with climate change.

Question

According to this graph on the Climate Action Tracker, https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/usa/ the Trump Administration has had some of the worst action record when it comes to climate change. Is this true? What are some policies that have either been, removed or initiated to make this accurate?

Answer 1

From what I found, this claim is true. Looking at the website Climate Action Campaign, we can see the various ways the Trump administration has worsened the climate crisis by cutting funding for existing initiatives to prevent it. As for having the "worst," this depends on what the Trump administration is being compared to. Given that climate change is getting worse, the Trump administration is setting barriers to creating renewable energy and cutting funding for preexisting solutions, setting the US and world back. This source has some bias, but climate change is widely accepted by scientists as a serious problem. 

Climate Action Campaign Trump's Climate and Clean Energy Rollback Tracker - Climate Action Campaign

Comments

I think your thoughtfulness in assessing what "worst" in this scenario is important because it can shift peoples opinions if they do not know what the U.S. current climate actions and solutions. I do wonder, however, if a more neutral source could've been added to this answer in order to get a more non-biased conclusion.

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I like your point about the policy rollbacks and how they could slow progress on climate action, but I think your argument would be stronger if you included a second source to balance the Climate Action Campaign. Since you mentioned that the source may have some bias, it would help to compare it with something like a government report or data from organizations like the EPA or NASA.

Also, when you say “worst,” it might help to define what criteria you’re using. Are you measuring emissions increases, policy changes, or global impact? Better  clarification can make your conclusion more precise and easier to evaluate.

Answer 2

I like that you pointed out the policy rollbacks, because that’s a really important part of evaluating this claim. One thing you could add to strengthen your argument is the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Agreement under Donald Trump. That decision meant the U.S. stepped away from its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, according to Climate Action Tracker, the U.S. was rated as “critically insufficient,” which is one of the lowest possible ratings. Including that kind of evidence would make your argument stronger because it shows that experts and data (not just opinion) support the idea that the administration’s climate record was very weak compared to global goals.