US President Donald Trump has described climate change as
“the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”.
Speaking on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) in New York, Trump doubled down on his rejection of global climate
action, saying efforts to cut emissions have weakened economies.
“It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in
my opinion,” Trump said.
“All of these predictions made by the United Nations and
many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people
that have cost their countries fortunes.”
The US president faulted the European Union’s efforts to
shrink its carbon footprint and warned that nations investing heavily in
renewables would “suffer economically”.
He pushed for “energy dominance”, anchored on oil, gas, coal
and nuclear — while dismissing clean energy as unsustainable.
The US under Trump formally withdrew from the Paris
Agreement, the 2015 climate pact signed by 195 countries to limit global
warming to 1.5°C.
That decision placed America alongside Yemen, Iran and Libya
as the only countries outside the accord.
Trump’s remarks came a day before Antonio Guterres, UN
secretary-general, convenes a climate summit expected to unveil new national
climate action plans.
Meanwhile, scientists maintain that climate change is real,
largely driven by human activity, and worsening — with rising temperatures,
stronger storms and melting ice as evidence.
Across the world, the impact has been devastating—Southern
Africa grappled with severe drought in 2024, while Nigeria and other countries
were hit by deadly floods.
The UN has repeatedly warned that delays in action could
unleash severe consequences on people and the planet.
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