We may have just lost the climate fight

As a reporter covering Latin America's energy industry over the last three years, it has filled me with tremendous hope and optimism to watch the clean energy revolution unfolding in the region.

Countries such as Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina have made huge strides in an astoundingly short time toward a low-carbon power sector, disproving the myth of mutual exclusivity between economic growth and low greenhouse gas emissions.

For that reason – among others – I felt sickened when I learned early this morning that my fellow US citizens had elected Donald Trump, a climate change denier, to the presidency.

The world's largest economy and second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases chose a man who has called human-induced climate change a hoax created by the Chinese, pledged to revitalize the coal industry and said he would "cancel" the COP21 Paris climate accord.

The gravity of this moment for Latin America and the world cannot be overstated.

Climate scientists now agree that in order to limit the human-induced rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius, the commitments made in Paris by more than 195 nations to reduce emissions will not be anywhere near sufficient.

These pledges must be enforced and strengthened, which will require a massive transfer of funds and technology from the developed world to emerging markets.

Nobly, Latin America's major economies all signed onto COP21. However, each said explicitly that without international support, they will not be able to expand their commitments to the extent now deemed necessary to avoid total climate catastrophe.

Under Barack Obama, the US has been providing this support in very tangible ways, such as direct investment from private sector firms in renewable energy projects; financing for those projects by US-based development banks and commercial lenders; and landmark agreements with countries such as Argentina and Mexico to accelerate the development of renewables and energy efficiency through the sharing of resources and technology.

Under a Trump regime, however, all bets are off.

To be sure, Latin America's renewable energy movement has gained too much momentum to be derailed by Tuesday's result. But any setbacks at this point could tip the scale irrevocably toward disaster, with the most vulnerable countries suffering first and hardest.

Latin America, much of which has been ravaged by unprecedented drought in recent years, is a prime example.

Obama's advancements on clean energy and the environment are among the most overlooked achievements of his presidency at home, but they have resonated globally.

Installed solar capacity in the US, for example, has grown 30-fold since Obama took office, while the Clean Power Plan – a carbon pricing initiative that penalizes emissions from thermal generators – is widely cited as the most ambitious action ever taken on climate by a US president.

However, this legacy is now in danger of being trashed, along with whatever faint chance remains of meeting the 2-degree goal.

In addition to Trump's victory, Republicans control both houses of congress, which will make the fight against climate change even tougher, given that the US is the one country in the world in which the issue remains deeply partisan.

Worse still, Trump now has the power to nominate likeminded supreme court justices to lifetime appointments, which could result in the overturning of the Clean Power Plan, and untold future deregulation of the fossil fuel industry.

It is now incumbent on the rest of the world to unite against Trump's dangerous worldview, and ensure that the clean energy transition – particularly in emerging markets like Latin America – continues.

Policymakers must put pressure on the US to fulfill and enhance its commitments to reduce emissions.

The private sector must continue to invest in renewable energy and efficiency projects in developing nations, where energy demand will grow at a much faster rate than in the rest of the world over the coming decades.

Perhaps most importantly over the long-term, governments must demand that the US cooperate on a global strategy to put a price on carbon emissions.

It's no exaggeration to say that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.