Protesters disrupt U.S. event at UN climate talks

KATOWICE, Poland — Protesters disrupted a U.S. government event at United Nations climate talks Monday, criticizing the Trump administration’s policy of backing the extraction of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.

About 100 people from groups representing Indigenous Peoples and youth stood up and chanted “Keep it in the ground” near the beginning of the American presentation. As cameras swarmed around them, some of the protesters explained the extraction of coal, oil and natural gas affects their communities.

The U.S. event, titled “U.S. Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism,” took place on the sidelines of the ongoing UN meeting in Katowice, Poland. After several minutes, the activists left the room chanting “Shame on you.” Their actions mirrored a similar protest during a U.S.hosted panel at last year’s UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany.

Wells Griffith, a Trump administration adviser at the Department of Energy, said after the interruption that the U.S. would continue extracting fossil fuels, including through hydraulic fracking. Speaking at the event, Griffith warned against “alarmism” over climate change, adding that “all energy sources are important, and they will be utilized unapologetically.”

The panel’s premise — that fossil fuels can be made “clean” through innovation — stands at odds with recommendations from scientists who say countries should transition to renewable energy sources as soon as possible.

Most of the world’s countries are signatories to the 2015 Paris agreement to limit climate change, while U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the U.S. from it.