BAKU, Azerbaijan — Looking for a MAGA-compatible approach to climate diplomacy? Europe’s right-wing leaders can help.
While Donald Trump plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement once again upon his return to the White House, Europe’s nationalist prime ministers and autocratic leaders made a right-wing case for championing (some) measures to slow global warming in the opening days of this year’s climate summit, known as COP29.
In Europe as elsewhere, right-wing populism correlates with weaker climate measures. But governments from Italy to Turkey have found arguments in favor of global cooperation to curb the rise in temperatures — from seizing economic opportunities to concerns that climate disasters will drive more migrants toward Europe.
Some — COP29 host country Azerbaijan chief among them — also see climate summits as a chance to greenwash their authoritarianism or fossil fuel industries.
