The world temporarily reached 1.5 °C warming, which scientists have been warning for a long time that must not be exceeded. And more and more people are feeling the consequences directly – most recently in Chile, where more than 120 people have been killed forest fires , which was partly caused by climate change. Global warming has also contributed to the fact that atmospheric rivers they drowned California in torrential rains, created mudslides and caused that hundreds of thousands of people lost power . Scientists now say that climate change may lead them to added category 6 on the hurricane scale. January 2024 was the ninth warmest month in history and the next record month after 2023 was the warmest year in history .

You'd think all of this would finally make Americans prioritize climate protection. Instead, many stand behind a man who does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change, who mocks what he calls climate fanaticism , and promises to "drill, drill, drill" from day one in office. And American banks are changing their minds and they are again investing in fossil fuel infrastructure . Under these circumstances, it should be considered criminal. No wonder the rest of the world looks at us in disbelief. (SABINE VON MERING, more at commondreams.org )