Election year: What are the climate plans of the candidates in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia?

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If previous European elections had brought a green wave to the European Parliament, the movement registered a clear decline following last weekend's vote. Today, the Green parties lost seatsand moved up from fourth to sixth place with 53 places.

Traditional parties that supported the Green Deal retained their majority. But the advance of the far right will complicate the adoption of new measures for carbon neutrality.

While measures already adopted are preserved, the new measures aim to drastically reduce emissions by 2040 May cause differences of opinion. This will be one of the major tests the new Parliament will face as it takes hold.

But the EU is not alone in facing a swing against green policies.

In this election year, attitudes toward climate policy vary widely around the world.

United Kingdom: Confused environment as election nears, between criticized ecology and postponement

In the UK, both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Labor opponent Keir Starmer's approaches to climate policies have come under fire.

Rishi Sunak used the first televised debate before the July 4 general election to stoke fears about the cost of environmental change and push for a move towards carbon-free consumption.

He has led initiatives aimed at promoting heat pumps and electric cars, as well as increasing the share of renewable energy in the UK. The Prime Minister said the measures would cost each household “thousands of pounds”.

Most of Mr Starmer's plans revolve around energy, with an £8bn (€9.5bn) start-up boost for Great British Energy.

The Labor Party is back on its feet It promises to spend £28 billion (33.2 billion euros) was pro-ecology at the start of the year and polls show that half of voters are not quite sure what the Labor leader's position is on climate change. In short, it's time for chaos.

The results of a Survation poll commissioned by Greenpeace found that half of voters were unsure about Labour's plans on the matter and less than a third of respondents thought what the party would do within government.

Greenpeace is calling on Starmer to clarify his intentions on the issue, saying Labor has a chance to win over voters who demand concrete action to tackle climate change.

Although the topic is seen as one of the main concerns of voters, it does not appear to be among the priorities of the two main contenders in the British general election.

Climate Promises in Australia

Australia also has elections this year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the opposition Liberal Party would return to its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if it wins.

In an interview, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton rejected plans – though included in the legislation – intended to cut emissions by 43% compared to 2005 levels by the end of the decade. He told The Weekend Australian newspaper, “There's no point setting goals you're unlikely to achieve.”

Last November, the authority Australian It predicts that commitment to climate change will fall by 37 to 42%.

Both the Albanian Labor Party and the Liberal Party favor renewable energy, but the means of getting there differ. Labor wants to develop renewable energy such as solar and wind, while the Liberal Party seeks to initiate.Atomic energy In Australia.

A polarized presidential election in the US

The US presidential elections later this year are expected to result in more polarized attitudes to climate action.

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The President Joe Biden The Inflation Reduction Act invested a historic $300 billion (€280 billion) in clean energy and climate initiatives. At the same time, he was criticized for his actions to increase oil and gas production.

Trump's plans for climate policy aren't necessarily clear, but during his last term, the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement. Joe Biden worked to restore it hours after he was inaugurated as president in 2021.

A Analyzed by Carbon Brief It found that if Trump wins the November presidential election, US emissions could rise by 4 billion tons by 2030. That's equivalent to the combined emissions of the European Union and Japan, or the world's 140 lowest-emitting countries.