The three-day international Global Climate Action Summit (September 12-14, 2018) in San Francisco, was touted as "a launchpad for deeper worldwide commitments and accelerated action from countries—supported by all sectors of society—that can put the globe on track to prevent dangerous climate change and realize the historic Paris Agreement."
The Summit was held against the backdrop of Hurricane Florence, which researchers say is set to bring 50% more rain to coastal areas in the Carolinas than it would have without the influence of climate change. And scientists have linked climate change to the fires raging in California.
While I applaud California Governor Jerry Brown and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for hosting the Global Climate Action Summit, it should have been hosted by the federal government.
Consider, however, that under Donald Trump, the federal government has done nothing about climate change. Trump has had a lot of things to say about global warming. He’s called it an urgent problem, and he’s called it a hoax. He’s said, the “concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” When he became president, his true intention became clear when he quickly signed an executive order rolling back key Obama-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions. And then he pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, signed by 176 countries and the European Union.
During the Summit, the Trump administration decided to allow more emissions of methane, the super-potent greenhouse gas that traps at least 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide does. Governor Brown criticized President Trump again for his inaction on climate change, saying Trump will go down in history as a “liar, criminal, fool — take your pick.”
Trump and too many in Congress have ignored the empirical evidence showing that climate change is real and is largely caused by man. This is not a theory; it is a fact. If someone tells you that this is not true, then they are lying or stupid or stand to make lots of money by ignoring it. By denying global warming, Trump and his cohorts in Congress have an excuse to do little or nothing about it. Climate change is no longer about science; it is now a political, economic, social debate. In other words, what do we do about climate change?
With so much at stake, why is the Trump administration, and too many in Congress, not addressing climate change head on? It is no mystery to me. These so-called climate change deniers have made a self-interested political decision, rather than a scientific one. By denying climate change, they have an excuse to do little or nothing about it; they don't want to alienate their friends in the fossil fuel industry.
Meanwhile Trump fiddles while Planet Earth sizzles.