Trump says if elected he ‘would exit global climate accord’

Donald Trump, the US Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, has said that he would pull America out of the UN global climate accord if elected, spelling potential doom for a treaty many scientists view as a last chance to limit global warming.

"We're going to cancel the Paris climate agreement," Trump said at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismark, Dakota, on Thursday.

The New York billionaire also said that he would slash environmental regulations on the energy industry.

"Any regulation that's outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers or contrary to the national interest will be scrapped and scrapped completely," Trump declared.

The Paris climate agreement, which deals with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020, was negotiated by representatives of nearly 200 countries in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015.

On April 22, 2016, some 177 countries, including the United States, signed the climate treaty at UN headquarters in New York. But it has not entered into force yet.

Trump would approve Keystone pipeline

In his first speech outlining the energy policies, Trump also said that he would support the Canadian Keystone oil pipeline project that was blocked by President Barack Obama over environmental concerns.

Trump said he would invite TransCanada to reapply to build the pipeline from Canada to the United States.

"I want it built, but I want a piece of the profits," Trump said. "That's how we're going to make our country rich again."

"President Obama has done everything he can to get in the way of American energy," he said. "If crooked Hillary Clinton is in charge, things will get much worse, believe me."

Trump’s ‘frightening’ proposals

Environmental advocates described  Trump’s proposals as "frightening."

"Trump’s energy policies would accelerate climate change, protect corporate polluters who profit from poisoning our air and water, and block the transition to clean energy that is necessary to strengthen our economy and protect our climate and health," said Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmental activist.

Trump has said he believes global warming is a hoax, that if elected president of the United States in November he would revive the ailing US coal industry.

In a recent interview with Democracy Now! American scholar Noam Chomsky called the possibility of a nuclear war and global warming greatest threats to the mankind’s existence.

“The threat of global warming is very serious. Every time one reads a science journal, there’s an even more alarming discovery. Virtually all the ice masses are melting,” Chomsky said.

“And to make it worse, of these two huge threats, we have an electoral—the quadrennial electoral extravaganza is going on right now, of course,” he added, referring to the Republican and Democratic election campaigns.  

Human species face worst threats

“And it’s pretty remarkable to see how the worst threats that the human species has ever faced, the most important decisions it must make—and soon—are virtually absent from the discussions and debates,” he said.

“On the Democratic side, there’s a couple of comments about it here and there, not much. On the Republican side, it’s much worse. Every single candidate either denies global warming altogether or, in one case, [John] Kasich, admits that it’s taking place but says we shouldn’t do anything about it, which is even worse,” stated Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author.

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