The Tillerson Effect: A Nightmare For Climate Far Beyond American Borders

The oil and gas sector cheered, while the world's climate movement reeled from the shock. If there was any doubt about Trump's position on the climate change debate, he swiftly dismissed it by appointing Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil, as Secretary of State. But the winners in Trump's election are not only in America. There are a few happy faces in Russia too.

Vladimir Putin's traditional position on climate change was one of denial, until he admitted it was a serious threat in 2015. However, Russia (the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gas) is lagging in its strategy to curb carbon pollution, and it's the only major polluter that still hasn't ratified the Paris Agreement.

It's fair to assume that things will get easier for the industry under Tillerson's Department of State. The oil businessman is sceptical of human-produced climate change, and documents leaked in 2016 proved that ExxonMobil had been knowingly constructing arguments against climate science to slow and hinder legislation against carbon emissions.

In this article, Neela Banerjee explains Russia's position in the climate change fight, its weaknesses and the efforts of both sides of the debate. It goes further to explain how Tillerson's appointment may benefit Russia's fossil fuel industry, and how the Arctic may be about to get drilled. It is a great starting point for understanding the global implications of Trump's presidency.

The piece is a nuanced and dispassionate exposition of facts that can be tackled in 10 minutes. For those who want to know more, there is a wealth of links and references for further reading.