Trump Bungles Climate Change in UK
During a trip to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump once again expressed skepticism about climate change, making several false or misleading statements in a television interview on “Good Morning Britain” with host Piers Morgan.
- Trump said the United States has “among the cleanest climates,” adding that he wants clean water and air. But what’s relevant to climate are greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.S. is the second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world.
- When asked whether he believes in climate change, Trump said, confusingly, that there is “a change in the weather” that “changes both ways.” Weather will always be variable, but long-term shifts in weather refer to climate. And the global average trend is for temperatures to increase.
- He also falsely stated that the term “global warming” shifted to “climate change,” and has now switched to “extreme weather.” Each of these terms has a different specific meaning and is in current use by scientists.
Trump went on to give examples of extreme weather, including tornadoes and hurricanes, that he says were worse in the past. The science isn’t clear on whether tornadoes are changing because of climate change, but there is evidence to suggest hurricanes are likely to get worse in the future because of greenhouse emissions. In any case, the examples don’t refute the overwhelming evidence that climate change is happening.
