Five reasons for hope in the climate crisis

It’s not an easy time if you care about the climate crisis and the fate of our planet. In 2024, the global average temperature was the warmest ever on record, and the most recent international climate conference to try to get world leaders on the same page was a disaster.

Heck, we called it a “global Ponzi scheme.”

Not to mention the obvious: The Trump administration is no friend to climate action. Trump is a climate denier, and his administration policies (like pulling out of the Paris Agreement, doubling down on oil and gas, and preparing to flout basic science by declaring that climate change does not endanger public health and welfare, to name a few) mean the U.S. will not try to solve the climate crisis in bold and unapologetic ways—but rather exacerbate it to the detriment of peoples’ livelihoods and food access. The effects of climate change have significant global implications, including on the most marginalized communities.

But any notion that this is “game over” in the climate fight is wrong. People and organizations at the federal, state, and local level in the U.S. will continue to push for change.

We can win—but if we are not smart and effective enough, millions of lives and livelihoods will be lost, and we risk many parts of the world becoming uninhabitable.

Here are five reasons why we can win the climate fight.

1. There is a strong U.S. climate movement

Even without changing the mind of Trump administration staff, there are many other places where the climate movement can and will affect climate policy.

Massive tax credits for green energy and funding for low-wage households to reduce their energy costs and their reliance on fossil fuels are already baked into U.S. law, in particular the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Trump administration may not be able to secure a majority to undo it. That’s because there is a political and economic constituency among Republicans that wants to keep at least some of these provisions.

For example, 22 Republican Congress members have already gone on the record to oppose cuts to clean energy tax credits. If there is enough political pressure on Congress, most of the IRA’s provisions could be retained.

Oxfam and many other groups are opposing any attempts to repeal the IRA, alongside our efforts to protect Medicaid and social programs.