Policy Briefs and Reports

This report examines the impact of the executive orders, issued by President Trump since taking office on 20 January 2025, which reject the decarbonization policies pursued by the Biden administration. President Trump’s policies, such as withdrawing again from the Paris Agreement and promoting increased fossil fuel production, run counter to the trend toward decarbonization, have run roughshod over democracy and will have a major negative impact on climate action, not only in the United States but throughout the world. Other governments must maintain the global trend toward decarbonization, implement effective policies domestically, and rebuild an international partnership framework to complement the U.S. withdrawal, through re-enforcing multilateralism and a coalition of the willing.

This policy brief, based on new data and analysis published by the author in the Afghanistan Analysts Network, outlines Afghanistan’s escalating economic losses due to climate change and mounting adaptation costs, institutional constraints, and possible financing pathways. Fragile governance, limited fiscal space, and international non-recognition have restricted access to climate finance, forcing the country to rely on declining humanitarian aid. It argues that, without targeted international action, Afghanistan may become a harbinger of climate injustice and systemic failure in fragile states. The brief concludes with seven policy recommendations.