In 2017, volcanic diplomatic outrage erupted when Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord.
Eight years later, there was no explosion when he did it again.
The difference cemented a change in tactics for climate-conscious officials and advocates that has been a long time coming but wasn’t guaranteed until Trump reclaimed the U.S. presidency.
For many climate warriors, Joe Biden’s presidency gave the illusion of permanent ascendency. Trump’s first term had been marked not by climate retreat but by the emergence of a broad political consensus that beating climate change was as fundamental to governing as providing clean water, security and education.