Last week, 74,650,754 Americans did not vote to fight climate change. They put their cross in the box next to the name of the man who said it’s a hoax.
This column strives to be apolitical. Americans chose one candidate and party rather than another for a number of reasons, but the fact remains: the environment was clearly not of overriding importance.
This should not have come as a surprise to anyone who has been following US polling on the subject. According to 2024 Pew Research, despite the floods, droughts and fires of recent years, only 25% of Americans now think reducing their carbon footprint is ‘extremely/very important’ and nearly a third (32%) say it’s ‘not too/not at all’ important. Strikingly, support for renewable energy has fallen dramatically since 2020 – from 90% to 78% for solar and from 83%-72% for wind.
Just as notably, as USA Today reported, Gen Z, which has always been seen as most concerned about ‘greenness’ seems to have been far more supportive of President-elect Trump than anyone expected.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Conservative party that was recently ejected from government by the electorate has just chosen a leader who described her country’s net zero target as ‘arbitrary’, and ‘unilateral economic disarmament’. In Germany, the far-right AfD has rejected any action against climate change while, in France, Marine le Pen’s RN party has talked about ‘dismantling renewables’.
Not so green
But climate change is only part of the picture. Politicians and voters who are unconcerned – or not very concerned – about CO2 footprints are not likely to be focusing much attention on sustainable and organic agriculture – or efforts to promote a transition towards it. For them, ‘greenness’ is part of a ‘woke’ neoliberal movement they dislike.
What may all or any of this mean for the wine industry?
Well, maybe nothing at all, but many winemakers and opinion-formers might need to remember that a lot of the people to whom they want to sell their bottles may not share their belief in sustainability, and regenerative and organic farming as the way forward – or a reason to buy one brand rather than another.
This, in turn, raises questions about the distributors who stand between the producers and the men and women who are going to drink their wine. How green will they be? It seems fair to suppose that the Nordic monopolies will hold firm to their environmental agendas, and even if – as is imaginable – one or more of them loses its power, citizens in those markets and Denmark probably aren’t going to start chanting ‘drill, baby drill!’ But what about the big retailers like Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour? And the discounters with whom they have to compete every day?
Pocketbook issues
Of course, a Trump Presidency, and the end to the war in Ukraine that it is likely to herald, may usher in an era of global prosperity. On the other hand, a new wave of Trump Tariffs might have the opposite effect. No-one can say. But if most people are still feeling the financial pinch, their readiness to pay a bit more for a greener product or service will be limited.
So, for the foreseeable future, I’d advise producers and distributors who care about the environment to give serious thought to identifying target customers who share their views, and to focusing on how to communicate with them. Otherwise, they could waste a lot of time and effort trying to sell lightweight bottles of wine to people who simply won’t see much appeal in buying them.
The views and opinions expressed in the Devil's Advocate pieces are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the publication. They are intended to provoke discussion and debate. If you would like to offer your own response to this or any other article, please email the editor-in-chief, Anja Zimmer at zimmer@meininger.de.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter. Be the first to know and never miss out on important updates.
