Op-ed

Trump's Ignorance About Climate Change: A Short-Sighted Calculation

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Published on 27 March 2025

A 1 °C rise in global temperatures could reduce U.S. GDP by 10 percent, according to recent studies. This prospect is being ignored by the U.S. president’s refusal to combat climate change, notes Frédéric Cherbonnier.

Article published in Les Echos on March 9, 2025.

Is there a certain logic behind the shocking decisions made by Donald Trump? What, in particular, should we make of his abandonment of the fight against climate change, formalized in his presidential executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy”? The executive order rejects the “social cost of carbon,” which represents the present-day value of future damage caused by emitting the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is a fundamental concept because it indicates the extent of the efforts that must be made today to prevent global warming.

Read more on Les Echos.

Illustration: Photo by History in HD on Unsplash.

Author

Frédéric Cherbonnier

See also

Digital finance payment

A Nobel laureate on why stablecoins may be nothing of the sort

  • Op-ed

  • Economics

  • Finance

  • Digital

Payments systems must be built on public infrastructure, not speculative tokens, writes Jean Tirole

Published on 16 October 2026

Read

See also

Digital finance payment

A Nobel laureate on why stablecoins may be nothing of the sort

  • Op-ed

  • Economics

  • Finance

  • Digital

Payments systems must be built on public infrastructure, not speculative tokens, writes Jean Tirole

Published on 16 October 2026

Read

Renewable Energy in a Political and Legal Maze

  • Op-ed

  • Energy and Climate

  • Infrastructure and Networks

  • Competition policy and regulation

  • Environnement

One of the appealing aspects of renewable energy—wind and solar—is that it is supposedly free. In reality, however, one must first invest in fixed capital for production and connection before reaping the benefits…

Published on 15 October 2026

Read

Seeking a Compromise Between Brussels and Paris on Funding for France’s New Nuclear Power Plants

  • Op-ed

  • Environnement

  • Infrastructure and Networks

  • Energy and Climate

France is counting on nuclear power to decarbonize its economy, but the French government’s massive funding of the six future EPR2 reactors runs up against European competition rules. A standoff is brewing between…

Published on 26 August 2026

Read