Amidst the chaos in the world there are some positive signs for 2025

The single biggest political change for the US in 2025 will be the arrival for the second time of Donald Trump as president. However, the whole world is approaching major changes, with the increasingly threatening global climate, challenges to the world economy and expanding conflicts. President-elect Trump has indicated he remains sceptical about the dangers of climate-change, and he is likely to be unenthusiastic about switching all energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable sources, such as wind and solar. This might suggest that he will stick to his campaign pledge to “drill, drill, drill”, allowing oil and gas companies to expand their fossil fuel investments. If he does, then this will have a dramatic effect on the next international climate conference which is due to take place in Brazil in November. However, a change in political leadership in the White House is not going to reverse decisions which have already been made by multiple businesses and industry. For example, the car industry is investing in electric vehicles, and solar and wind power companies are setting up across the country. This is long-term investment which will keep going even if the 47th president backs coal, oil and gas. There are many signs around the world of major developments underway to meet the growing threat from climate change. The future, in terms of the changing world climate, is not all bleak. There are positive signs that the world, or at least some parts of the world, are getting to grips with the potential dangers of global warmth. But it’s slow progress which is why individual government leaders have to play an important role in bringing in new legislation to mee the climate risks. Trump might even be persuaded of the arguments that fossil fuels cannot be the answer for the world’s energy needs in the future. The two other major issues for 2025, the economy and conflicts, could also be less challenging than many are predicting. In the US, the economy is showing very positive growth signs and next year there is every likelihood that it will continue to improve, bringing more people into jobs which could help cut down the cost of living. Unlike Europe where economies are stagnating, the US which has the largest economy in the world, looks set to have a prosperous 2025. Whether the arrival of the new president next month will mean a world with fewer conflicts remains to be seen. However there has to be hope that the war in Ukraine can be brought to an end with some form of settlement that won’t only benefit Russia. Trump has asked his special envoy for the war in Ukraine, Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, to devise a formula which will end the war and bring stability to Ukraine after nearly three years of conflict. Although there is no reduction in Russian missile attacks against Ukraine, it may well be Trump’s personal relationship with President Putin which will be the decisive factor in persuading the Russian leader to stop the war and reach an agreement with President Zelensky of Ukraine. As for the Middle East, it’s in Trump’s interest to play a role in bringing the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to a close. When Trump was president, he signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 which normalised relations between Israel and several Arab nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. It was a significant diplomatic achievement. But there is an even bigger potential prize, the normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. But this will never happen while the war in Gaza continues. If Trump could help towards bringing a settlement in Gaza, then a wider agreement could then be reached which could have positive repercussions throughout the Middle East. That would be a coup for the new president. So 2025 could be a good year for tackling climate change, for improving the economy and for ending the terrible wars which raised threat levels for the whole planet in 2024.