Does Donald Trump represent a step forward for climate change action? | Kate Aronoff

His advisers admit that populism demands addressing climate change. But don't expect him to do enough to protect the planet

Donald Trump will have a climate plan and it will be ugly. For now, the Republican frontrunner is pedaling the kind of denialism his party loves, having called global warming everything from a "hoax" to a "con job" to a Chinese plot. But an interview with his energy adviser late last week hinted that - before too long - Trump might endeavor to Make Atmospheric Carbon Levels Great Again. For those interested in a livable and more equal future, that's not a good thing.

"My advice would be, while I'm a skeptic as well", Trump energy honcho Kevin Cramer told ClimateWire last week, "he is a product of political populism, and political populism believes that there needs [to be] some addressing of climate change".