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We live in disastrous times. As emissions accelerate unabated, the climate crisis crushes the vulnerable with record-breaking heat, record-breaking storms, and record-breaking floods. And instead of easing off the gas, fossil capitalism is slamming its foot down on the pedal. To make matters worse, the economy is reeling as ideological trade wars exacerbate already existing global inequality. The working class is in financial shambles. And to meet this moment of crisis, a little under 30% of the United States voted Donald Trump into the White House for a second term. His tenure so far has been ruthless and signals a growing flame of
fascism igniting across the planet. Trump is not an aberration, he is a symptom of a broader decay of the capitalist order that's been building since WW2. The duct tape holding the cracks together is now pulling apart. Capitalism's contradictions are churning out crisis after crisis. And a new form of fascism claiming to address those crises is coming to the fore- one with new specters and new scapegoats. Today we examine those forms of fascism through the lens of Trump, looking at how we got to this moment of fascism on the rise, why liberalism will fail to combat it,
and what might help to smother the flames of this growing fossil fascist inferno. Our Changing Climate is an almost entirely viewer-funded channel, and a large chunk of why I'm able to keep making videos every month is because of people who support me on Patreon. But to continue making anticapitalist environmental videos free from the insecurity of YouTube monetization, I'm hoping to make this channel entirely viewer-supported, which means almost doubling the number of my current Patreon supporters. So, if you've been a long-time viewer, or just stumbled across the channel and want to help support anti-capitalist ecological videomaking, please consider supporting Our
Changing Climate on Patreon using the link in the description and get some great perks like a Patron-only discord or full-length interviews with activists and authors. So, go to patreon.com/ourchangingclimate to chip in a couple of dollars a month to support this channel. What are eco and fossil fascism? Mass migration, financial crisis, pandemics, and an endless stream of climate shocks like wildfires leveling cities, and hurricanes killing tens of thousands. We are staring down the barrel of an age of crisis-one where inflation
pales compared to existential threats like runaway global warming. For the over 40 years that liberal capitalist governments have understood the threat of climate change, little has been done. The 29 annual global climate conferences have churned out toothless agreements and half-hearted commitments. Fossil fuel production reaches record levels every year despite the acceleration of renewable development, pushing more and more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere. And as we continue to do little, we barrel forward toward a crucial decision. Do we directly confront and dismantle
the forces of fossil capital driving us over the cliff, or do we continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal to preserve the profit accumulation and luxury that fossil fuel-soaked capitalism enables for the few? So far we've chosen the second option, and the rise of fascism across the planet, and specifically the U.S., signals that we're trudging deeper down that path. We're not just keeping our foot on the gas, we're now pressing down hard on the pedal. But why? And how on earth is fascism connected to the climate crisis? To understand that question we have to understand
fascism. But that's not an easy task, as a scholar on fascist Germany, Ian Kershaw, laments, "trying to define 'fascism' is like trying to nail jelly to the wall." This, in part, is due to the march of time and shifting contexts. Italian and German fascists looked different from each other and their ideologies certainly differ from self-proclaimed fascists of the modern day. But there are ideological throughlines of fascism that can help us give shape to that jelly and make it easier to nail it to the wall. Roger Griffin, one of the foremost researchers on the subject,
explains that fascism is a politics defined by the synthesis of evoking a myth of a nation's glorious past (also known as palingenesis) ["Together, we will make America great again."] and combining that with extreme national identity (or ultranationalism), ["I have a visceral and passionate attachment to our country and its history. I love France"] in order to stoke ideas among the masses that their nation is crumbling and needs to be restored to its former glory. And, the racialized other is always blamed for the crumbling state of the nation. But, as Andreas
Malm and the Zetkin Collective write in their book White Skin, Black Fuel, fascism can also take the form of palindefensive ultranationalism. Or the idea that the white nation has defended itself from racialized enemies for thousands of years and they are once again at the gates threatening the purity of that nation. Whether it be communists ["They want to turn our country into a communist country Marxist country"], immigrants ["They're bringing drugs, they're bringing lots of crime, they're rapists] or Muslims ["I think Islam hates us"], the threat of the "other" is
wielded by fascism to drum up fear and explain the existential crises the nation is facing. This is crucial. Because fascists capture power in times of deep crisis to which there doesn't seem to be any traditional solution. They do not steal power necessarily, classical fascists were handed the reigns of power by the ruling classes of capitalism. After WWI, factions of the ruling class witnessed a crisis so deep- hyperinflation and a floundering economy- that they were willing to support a fascist regime in order to solve it, so that they might continue to accumulate
profits. So fascism, in the words of Malm and the Zetkin Collective is a politics of palingenetic or palindefensive ultranationalism that emerges in a moment of deep crisis, "and if leading sections of the dominant class throw their weight behind it and hand it power, there ensues an exceptional regime of systematic violence against those identified as enemies of the nation." But it's not just the capitalist class that legitimizes and aids the rise of fascism. As Marxist Clara Zetkin, who wrote during the interwar period and witnessed the rise of fascism in Europe firsthand, explains: "masses in their thousands streamed to
fascism. It became an asylum for all the politically homeless, the socially uprooted, the destitute and the disillusioned. And what they no longer hoped for from the revolutionary proletarian class and from socialism, they now hoped would be achieved by the most able, strong, determined, and bold elements of every social class. All these forces must come together in a community. And this community, for the fascists, is the nation." In short, fascism preys upon the disillusionment and uncertainty of working-class people. Fascists
make existential crises concrete. It's easier to scapegoat the immigrant or the communist than grapple with the ramifications of an economy in crisis or the looming threat of climate change for that matter. We saw this firsthand in the fall of 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Still mired in the depths of the Covid pandemic and reeling from the black lives matter uprisings, far-right vigilantes blamed the Portland wildfires on Antifa: [this one cop was filmed multiple times talking about antifa arsonist and another cop's jumping in to say yeah people around Portland are
just going to stay home and die in The Inferno because if they leave their house they're going to encounter leftist and they don't want to do that so they're just going to stay home and die."] The fires weren't supercharged by something as abstract as climate change, instead they were an opportunity to scapegoat something more tangible: radical leftists. Here is where we turn two intertwining strains of fascism taking root in the United States and across the planet. Fossil fascism and ecofascism. As the climate crisis sharpens, the inevitable
confrontation with the fossil fuel industry draws nearer. To stop climate change, fossil fuel extraction cannot continue to exist. Ending fuel production means stranding trillions of assets and massive hits to capitalist profits, not to mention economic aftershocks that will permeate through almost every facet of our fossil fuel-based capitalist economy. Fossil fascism rises on the back of this deep existential crisis. To continue with business-as-usual, to preserve their power, fossil capitalists are funneling more and more funds into the far right, a political wing
eager to protect and defend the infrastructure and profits of fossil capitalists as a means of strengthening the nation. Because for many segments of the far right, fossil fuel production is the basis of the strong, masculine, white nation. The result of all of this would be the elites of the fossil class fueling the far right's rise to power in a time of deep crisis to protect their profits and infrastructure. In the United States in particular, this means the intentional or unintentional shielding of fossil capital by claiming that the problem is not climate change,
but instead, immigrants, or the mythical "other," or Antifa like we saw in Portland. This growing threat of fossil fascism is accompanied by its seemingly opposite counterpart- ecofacism. If fossil fascism is a palingenetic ultranationalism mobilized in order to defend the existence of fossil fuels, then ecofascism is a palingenetic or palindefensive ultranationalism evoked in conjunction with a twisted form of environmentalism. Ecofacism is what would happen
if fascists rejected fossil fuels and instead sought to protect their national environments and racial purity by cutting carbon and preserving land. This is a politics that recognizes in some nominal way, the destruction of the environment and the threat of climate change, but then points towards the racialized other, often immigrants, as the source of that destruction [play clip]. In short, ecofascists connect the strength of the nation to its natural environments. For them, climate change and environmental degradation are solved by perhaps by limiting fossil fuels but
also by purging the white nation of the racialized other and political enemies. As we will soon see, Trump and his regime oscillate between the two. Primarily championing a fossil fascist regime of climate denial and fossil fuel dominance, but infusing certain narratives with ecofascist tendencies. And in doing so, Trump paints a potentially dark future. A future that reacts to the threat of climate change with fascism. Trump's fossil fascist agenda unleashed Right before Trump took office, he made a sinister
promise: ["He says, 'You're not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said: 'No, no, no, other than day one."]. And he kept that promise. On day one he immediately signed executive orders setting the tone for democratic backsliding, hunting down his enemies, and dismantling the state. There's been much debate about whether it's useful or accurate to label Trump a fascist. Some claim that while there are strong similarities to classic European fascism, Trump is a different beast. To which I would agree, Trump is a uniquely American specter. But under the definitions we
just laid out Trump has many characteristics of a fascist and fossil fascist more specifically. In this moment of deep crisis- reeling from the pandemic, inflation, economic uncertainty, and the existential threat of climate change- the dominant classes, particularly fossil fuel capitalists, have handed the reins of power to Trump. A demagogue, who has built his platform on the narrative of returning the nation to its former glory ["Make America Great Again"] and drumming up fear that the racialized other is once again at the gates threatening to destroy the
nation [XX play clip]. Now that Trump once again holds power, he's worked to shield and expand the profits of the ruling class, especially the fossil fuel industry. Indeed, right after he claimed that he was going to be a dictator on day one, he explained: ["We're closing the border, and we're drilling, drilling, drilling."]. But of course, Trump wasn't just boosted to power on the back of oil-soaked capitalist cash, he preyed on the uncertainty and disillusionment running rampant through the U.S. [play clip]. Trump campaigned on an "us versus them" nativist strategy, where
all social ills and crises could be connected to Marxists ["We're going to keep foreign Christian hating communists, Marxists and socialists out of America."], the immigrant ["but no hope or dream for america can succeed unless we stop the illegal immigrant invasion"] or the racialized other [play clip]. As João Ferreira Dias writes in an article for the European Center for Populism Studies, "For the white working class, nativist rhetoric offers both cultural validation and a channel for economic grievances, reinforcing the 'us vs. them' framework. Trump's appeal lies in
his ability to present himself as the protector of 'real Americans' against perceived threats from immigrants, elites, and progressive activists." In this way, crises are easily explainable, the uncertain becomes certain. The LA wildfires or Hurricane Helene aren't supercharged by climate change and fossil fuel extraction, they're tools of the enemy. The economy is bad because too many immigrants are coming over the border. As Richard Seymour, author of the book Disaster Nationalism argues, "You can't shoot capitalism or climate change, even if you were to acknowledge them:
they are large, abstract forces. But you can shoot Antifa, or march on the Capitol in the hope of stringing up the communists in charge." Trump makes physical an otherwise abstract threat, and in doing so distracts and shrouds the actual cause of those crises- fossil capitalism. Once he was back in power, Trump immediately transformed this "nation first" rhetoric into policy. His regime wielded Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to indiscriminately round up hundreds of immigrants viewed as political enemies, and swiftly issued a slew of executive
orders crushing the livelihoods of trans-Americans by seeking to block gender-affirming care, deny passport renewal, or even censure discussions of gender dysphoria in schools. But alongside making America great again by hunting down perceived threats to the nation, Trump has, in true fossil fascist form, been consistent in his championing of oil and gas. For him, the nation will be great again only when he's achieved ["American Energy Dominance"]. A dominance that can only be attained by unleashing the fossil fuel industry. ["I call it beautiful clean coal
I told my people never use the word coal unless you put beautiful clean before it"] With this agenda of American Energy Dominance, Trump is both a shield and a sword for the fossil fuel industry. An industry that funneled almost $100 million into his campaign coffers. He's shielding the industry by claiming climate change is a hoax [XX play clip] painting emissions reduction policies as a scam ["The Democrats Green New Scam killed jobs and sent prices soaring here in America"], and then slashing down any perceived threat to the fossil capitalist's bottom line: ["We're going to
drill, baby, drill and do all of the things that we wanted to"]. Whether that be slowing climate action by pulling out of the Paris Agreement and declaring a National Energy Emergency on day one to facilitate even more fossil fuel production, or quite literally locking up those trying to delay fuel extraction, Trump's agenda has wasted no time in rolling out the red carpet for fossil capital. And a brief look at his cabinet reveals that truth. Trump has filled his administration with fossil fuel executives and lap dogs, like Chris Wright. A man who is the former CEO
of the fracking company Liberty Energy and now runs the Department of Energy. Or the current Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota who frequented banquets honoring fracking executives and helped oil companies fight greenhouse gas regulations. In his first few months back in office, Trump has signed a slew of executive orders in an attempt to unleash fossil fuel production, like an order to boost the coal industry to power AI, or another that opened up even more public lands to drilling, or this one ordering the Justice Department to stop enforcing state climate laws. His regime
has even fired thousands of staff in the EPA and NOAA and cut budgets for environmental projects. He's flouted the law by freezing funds for clean energy initiatives bound by legally binding contracts and has halted approvals for wind farms on public lands. Trump is moving fast and breaking everything- capitalizing on our shock at other egregious actions to speed on to the next anti-climate action agenda item. Simply put, he is a boon to the fossil capitalist's bottom line. All of this serves the larger narrative that Trump constructs. Through rhetoric and action,
his regime aligns fossil fuel extraction with the strength of the nation. In doing so he, in classic American fashion, asserts that fossil fuels aren't just essential for U.S. freedom, but for American domination of the world. For Trump, fossil fuels no longer cause the climate crisis, but in fact, are doing the opposite, they are saving the nation from the threat of outsiders and fueling its rebirth. Interestingly, one moment Trump can be praising the beauties of clean coal and bashing electric vehicle mandates, and the next he's selling Teslas on the front steps of the White House.
Are there perhaps hints of ecofascism woven into Trump's fossil fascist politics? This wouldn't be out of the blue. If there ever there was a breeding ground for ecofascists, it would certainly be America. A country whose legitimacy is based on the violent theft and occupation of indigenous land, and whose countless myths of pristine nature and "America the beautiful" lead to a conflation of the nation and its natural land. Indeed, during Trump's campaign, the National Republican Congressional Committee ran an ad that used AI images to depict immigrants overrunning and despoiling American National Parks. And some
soundbites in Trump's speeches draw close to that sentiment [XX"poisoning the land] This narrative flirts along the edges of ecofascist literature like Garret Hardin's Lifeboat Ethics. Famous for his thoroughly debunked tragedy of the commons theory, Hardin wrote a lesser-known manuscript that's inspired ecofascists around the globe. In Lifeboat Ethics, Hardin envisions rich nations as lifeboats and the people drowning in the water as immigrants from poor countries hoping to climb into the rich boats. Hardin argues that there are limited resources within rich nations, or in the case of the lifeboat, space, and it's better
to shore up borders and cease foreign aid, or in the metaphor, let people drown because immigration will cause overpopulation and ruin the nation. In short, a fortress mentality, where immigrants will spoil the riches of the great nation, so they should be kept out at all costs. This has been echoed by American politicians like the former Arizona Attorney General who claimed, ["Every time someone crosses the border, they're leaving between six and eight pounds of trash in the desert…That trash is a threat to wildlife. It's a threat to natural habitats."] And this rhetoric
has had violent consequences. The blaming and fear-mongering connecting an immigrant invasion to ecological destruction have been the foundation of the manifestos of multiple mass shooters across the world. This is the ultranationalism and violence in the service of environmentalism. Trump's tariff's and obsession with the border wall hint at this fortress mentality. A mentality that drums up racial fears, and leads to brutal violence as individuals reach the inevitable conclusion of ecofascism: ethnic cleansing and mass murder to preserve the natural wonders of the great nation. So it seems that while Trump mainly champions a fossil fascist narrative,
he skirts along the edges of ecofascism in a dance that ultimately hands stability and accumulation of profits to fossil capital, delays crucial climate action, and in the ensuing climate chaos employs a lifeboat ideology that leads to the immiseration of millions. Unfortunately, Trump is not alone. He is simultaneously unique and not unique. There will be another Trump if nothing changes, and around the world, he's not alone as the tendrils of fossil and ecofascism gain footholds in mainstream politics. This isn't just about Trump: In January of 2025, the co-chairwomen of the German far-right party Alternatives for Deutschland, Alice Weidel,
laid out AFD's agenda in a fiery speech ["We have a plan for Germany… Close the borders completely and turn back anyone entering illegally and without papers."] and then a moment later in the speech attacked the shamefulness of green energy ["We are tearing down all wind power plants, down with these windmills of shame."]. AfD is now one the most popular parties in Germany and has secured the second most seats in the German parliament. They surged into the mainstream on a platform of anti-immigrant, anti-climate, and fossil fascism. Trump is not alone. Across the world, neo-nazis, strongmen,
and demagogues are riding to power on a wave of hate for the racialized other and a veneration of the nation. In Italy, the fascist party led by Giorgia Meloni took power in 2022, and in Sweden, the far-right party, Sweden Democrats is gaining steam by fearmongering about the white race being replaced by immigrants while decrying climate change as a hoax. Or the Vox party's rise in Spain, or FrP in Norway. Whether it's green nationalism or fossil fuel nationalism, it's clear that proto-fascist parties are emerging into the mainstream- Preying on
the fears and disillusionment of the masses in this time of crises and promising riches and power to capitalists in the same breath. Trump is not an aberration, he's a symptom of the capitalist crisis we are now facing. This means that ousting Trump is not enough. That is a short-term band-aid solution to a festering wound. We need to treat the infection and sew up the gash so that another Trump can never again lead us a descent into fascism. Fighting fossil fascism: We live in a time of uncertainty, where at any moment you may get an evacuation alert on your phone because of an out-of-control wildfire, or the price of eggs may skyrocket because of rampant bird flu and inflation exacerbated by
trade wars, or a pandemic might keep us trapped inside for years. In these times of crisis, narratives of certainty are like a siren song. For working people, it can be so tempting to cling to the promises of stability when all else is crumbling around us. But immigrants are not the enemy nor are diversity and inclusion measures. These are scapegoats that allow capitalists to accumulate even more profits while we tear at each other's throats. The problem, at its core, are the contradictions inherent in capitalism. Capitalism needs to exploit workers,
it needs fossil fuels to survive, it needs crises to transform and remake itself. So, more liberal capitalism or moral highgrounding won't defend against this oncoming wave of fascism, because time and time again liberal campaign promises have resulted in very little material gain for the working class. Appealing to everyone with shallow pandering to identity or hollow promises like we get from the Amerccan democratic Party is not the way. This is a moment of deep dissolution, displacement, and jadedness from the working class, and to combat fascism,
to grapple with the climate crisis, and to bring lasting and equitable relief to everyone, we need more than capitalist reform and liberal morals. We need ecosocialism. We need to build a movement of mass working-class power across race, gender, nationality, and ability that works with people to achieve actual demands. A socialist platform that seeks to dismantle capitalism and fight fascism. Ecosocialism must be the path forward. We must build a political party from working people for working people to construct an economy based on worker control of production,
one based on use rather than exchange, and all the while driving towards the north star of a stateless classless society where people and planet can live harmoniously together. A planet, where we can find security and certainty in the community around us and the health of our environment, a planet where fascism can no longer take root. And community has been crucial for the continued operation of this channel, because sponsors and advertisers are uninterested in touching videos like this one. In order to continue discussing necessary videos that sponsors deem too "controversial," I increasingly rely on the generous support of viewers like you who
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