Trump doesn’t ‘believe’ gov’t climate report
President Trump on Monday rejected an alarming scientific report issued by his own administration that concludes climate change will have disastrous effects on the U.S. economy unless world leaders commit to combating the planet-warming phenomenon.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for political rallies in Mississippi, Trump said the National Climate Assessment was generally “fine.” But, when pressed on the 1,656-page report’s economic findings, Trump demurred.
“I don’t believe it,” Trump said without elaborating.
The scientific assessment — which was issued by 13 federal agencies and released by the White House over Thanksgiving weekend in an apparent attempt to shield it from public scrutiny — lays out in devastating detail how the gradual warming of the planet as a result of human activity directly correlates with the uptick in natural disasters seen across the U.S., including the forest fires that recently ravaged California.
In what marks the most dire warning to date of the consequences of climate change, the report also states the U.S. economy will be slashed by as much as 10% by the end of the century if significant steps aren’t taken to reduce pollution and find clean alternatives to fossil fuels.
The report is repeatedly and blatantly at odds with Trump, whose aggressive environmental deregulation agenda is allowing more planet-warming pollution to be spewed into the atmosphere. Ironically, Trump has justified his sweeping deregulation policies by saying they will boost the economy.
In particular, the government-issued climate report says trade, manufacturing and agriculture will take particular hits as a consequence of climate change.
Instead of acknowledging such findings, Trump pointed fingers at other nations on Monday.
“We’re clean, but if every other place on Earth is dirty, that’s not so good,” Trump told reporters, referencing China and Japan. “I want clean air and clean water, very important.”
However, unlike Chinese and Japanese leaders, Trump has vowed to pull out of the Paris Agreement, making the U.S. the only countries besides Syria and Nicaragua to do so. The landmark climate accord pledges to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions and work toward finding renewable energy sources.
Critics and scientists excoriated Trump over his latest science snub.
“The fact that we have a President of the United States who doesn’t believe in science is an international embarrassment and incredibly dangerous,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted. “Climate change is already causing devastating consequences. We need bold action, not denials.”