Trump energy policy labelled short-sighted

SCIENCE has proved that climate change is largely caused by human activities. Any energy policy that goes against the science is short-sighted and disastrous to the whole world.

As Donald Trump was sworn in as US president on Friday, the White House website published the new president’s America First Energy Plan, saying he will eliminate “harmful and unnecessary” policies such as the Climate Action Plan and embrace the shale oil and gas revolution.

The energy plan of Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has widely discredited a wrong starting point – the denial of human activities as the main factor behind climate change.

Shale oil may benefit the US by bringing down the price of oil, but Washington’s policy carries another price – disorientation of efforts against climate change.

The world consensus is that clean energy, instead of fossil fuels, is the only option. Breakthroughs in such areas as second-generation biofuels, photovoltaic and wind energy, electric cars and energy-saving products have driven the rapid development of related industries and promoted the transformation of economic growth models.

Renewable energy, led by wind and solar power, surpassed coal in 2015 to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world, according to the International Energy Agency.