Other views: America continues to show strong leadership

President Donald Trump:

“I’m pleased to announce the United States will join One Trillion Trees Initiative being launched here at the World Economic Forum . ... We will continue to show strong leadership in restoring, growing and better managing our trees and our forests. This is not a time for pessimism; this is a time for optimism. Fear and doubt is not a good thought process because this is a time for tremendous hope and joy and optimism and action . ... Alarmists always demand the same thing: absolute power to dominate, transform and control every aspect of our lives.”

Greta Thunberg:

“We are not telling you to ‘offset your emissions’ by just paying someone else to plant trees in places like Africa while at the same time forests like the Amazon are being slaughtered at an infinitely higher rate. Planting trees is good, of course, but it’s nowhere near enough of what is needed, and it cannot replace real mitigation and rewilding nature.”

Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner:

“Why are we acting as though Thunberg’s words have the same import as those spoken by President Trump? ... We saw that on Tuesday when Trump and Thunberg separately addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland . ... Thunberg is not the prime minister of her native Sweden. Trump is the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth. Each of his statements offers insight into policies that have profound relevance for the global economy, international security and any other issue Trump is addressing . ... Thunberg is just a 17-year-old with a large soapbox. So yes, praise Thunberg’s commitment to her cause. But let’s stop pretending these two voices are equally relevant.”

Kara Swisher, The New York Times:

“Reports outline a multitrillion dollar opportunity in ... renewables, software and artificial intelligence to help us understand climate data, the food production ecosystem and even the way we construct our buildings . ... The United States and Europe lag in investment and innovation far behind China, which has a staggering lead in solar photovoltaic module production and also a big head start in other renewable technologies, including hydropower and lithium-ion batteries. (Lithium ... referred to as the ‘white petroleum.’) ... Those who jump into this climate space will make the next great fortunes in tech. More like ‘profits of boom.’ And if it takes Trump’s unruly ranting to get our greatest minds focused on stopping our environmental suicide, so be it.”