U.S. President Donald Trump, responding to a question about climate change after skipping a G7 session on the issue, said on Monday that American wealth is based on energy and he will not jeopardize that for dreams and windmills.
Trump, who in 2017 pulled the United States out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord involving nearly 200 countries and has described global warming as a “hoax,” also sought to portray himself as an environmentalist at a news conference at the close of the Group of Seven summit in France.
“I feel that the United States has tremendous wealth. The wealth is under its feet. I’ve made that wealth come alive. … We are now the No. 1 energy producer in the world, and soon it will be by far,” Trump told reporters when asked about his views on climate change.
“I’m not going to lose that wealth, I’m not going to lose it on dreams, on windmills, which frankly aren’t working too well,” he added.
Trump’s administration has reversed U.S. environmental protections put in place by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama and has weakened the Endangered Species Act wildlife conservation law. – READ MORE