Trump says the east coast of the US could “use a little bit of that good old Global Warming” as it faces its coldest New Year’s Eve on record – appearing to either misunderstand or ignore the scientific evidence on climate change.
US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a Christmas break in sunny Florida, said the east coast could benefit from some “global warming,” and taunted the international Paris climate agreement – which he pulled the US out of in June – for attempting to battle the crisis.
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“In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!” the president wrote.
With less than the three days left in the year, 2017 is set to be one of the hottest years ever after experiencing “record-breaking extreme weather” according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization.
Catastrophic hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, and droughts across the world have had a devastating and often fatal impact on many citizens – including those in California who endured its wettest winter on record and its most destructive wildfire season ever.
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Citizens of Houston and Puerto Rico are still recovering from the effects of hurricanes Harvey and Maria, while Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas all reported record-high water levels during severe flooding in April and May.
It’s not the first time the president has shared his skepticism of climate change on Twitter. In 2012, the soon-to-be politician wrote: “It's freezing and snowing in New York -- we need global warming.” A year later, he added: "Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee - I'm in Los Angeles and it's freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!"
In November, however, the Trump administration approved a scientific climate change report that confirmed it is “extremely likely” that human activity is the “dominant” cause of global warming as there is “no convincingalternative explanation.”