Musk has said he’s raised climate issues with the White House before, but that despite these efforts, he’s come under fire for his willingness to engage with the Trump administration.
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He said the United States is already a leader in carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
Australia remains committed to the historic Paris climate change agreement despite Donald Trump withdrawing the United States.
The withdrawal puts the United States in a dubious club with Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries to reject the agreement.
Multiple US news organisations, including the New York Times and CNN citing senior White House officials, reported on Wednesday Mr Trump is expected to pull America out of the landmark Paris climate accord.
All other countries are parties to the agreement except Syria and Nicaragua.
The decision puts the United States in a small group of nations that are not a part of the Paris accord.
“I think that it’s very speculative that those jobs would be impacted adversely”, Pruitt said. “There is no way”, he said in a televised address. “Don’t be mistaken on climate; there is no plan B because there is no planet B”.
During his campaign, Trump said he would “cancel” the Paris agreement and his administration has ordered cuts to funding for climate science. We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore, and they won’t be.
But what exactly is the Paris Agreement and why is it such a big deal?
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said The Paris Agreement is bad for America because it’s bad for jobs. Leaving the climate deal, in any event, does nothing to advance jobs in fossil fuels or any other industry. “Europe will lead through ambitious climate policies and through continued support to the poor and vulnerable”, adds the EU Climate Commissioner.
China has committed to staying in, even if the US pulls out, and has set policies to limit coal use at home, in part to address heavy air pollution.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying further highlighted Trump’s abdication of American leadership on the global stage in comments circulated by The People’s Daily, noting, “China will continue to work with the European Union to strengthen communication and cooperation on climate change, and push forward the multilateral governance process in this regard”.
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“It goes without saying that the effectiveness of this convention is likely to be reduced without its key participants”, a Kremlin spokesman said.
