Trump’s UN envoy nominee defends climate record

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations on Wednesday defended her record on climate change, saying it is a “real risk to our planet” that must be addressed.

Kelly Knight Craft told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she believes human behavior has contributed to climate change and she’ll push countries to deal with it. However, she also said the United States should not have to bear an “outsized burden” in mitigating its effects.

Her comments came in response to questions from Democrats on the panel prompted by previous remarks she made doubting the causes and severity of climate change and suggesting that climate change doubters have valid arguments.

Craft also said that withdrawing from the Paris agreement did not mean the administration was ceding a leadership role on climate change.

“We don’t need to be a member to show leadership,” she said, arguing that developing countries like China and India were not being asked to make the same contributions as the United States.

Craft is a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky who is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada. She and her husband, Joe Craft, have donated millions of dollars to Republican presidential and other political candidates and if confirmed, she would be first major political donor to occupy the top U.N. post for any administration.

Joe Craft is the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners, one of the largest coal producers in the country.