Former President Donald Trump sparked controversy during a recent United Nations event, where he labeled climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” He made his speech in front of the leaders of countries most affected by the worst effects of climate change. This raised eyebrows among environmental advocates and global leaders alike.
And yet, remarkably, Trump’s comments come at the height of realization that we need climate action now. In climate justice, the U.S. has already contributed a substantial amount to global carbon dioxide levels—24% of human-caused emissions since 1850. Climate change impacts Africa more than it does the U.S., a continent with four times the U.S. population. Surprisingly, it is responsible for just over 3% of these emissions. This inequity underscores the historical culpability of developed countries for their role in creating the climate crisis.
Even though today China is the world’s number one carbon polluter, with cumulative emissions—the sum of all pollutants over time—the U.S. still has that dishonor. This legacy has deeply consequential implications. Carbon dioxide stays in Earth’s atmosphere for more than a hundred years, making the long-term devastation unavoidable for disadvantaged communities everywhere.
Additionally, environmental justice advocates have documented the lethal impacts of our dependence on fossil fuels. Coal and fossil fuels, more broadly, are the main culprits behind millions of premature deaths each year from air pollution. The world is more unsafe, unequal, and unsustainable today than ever. In turn, renewable energy, especially solar and wind, have joined as one of the biggest forces. These technologies just a few years ago were mentioned as “almost always” the cheapest new electricity generation.
Trump recently tweeted that European electricity bills have skyrocketed in comparison to U.S. prices. Data show that across the U.S., retail electricity prices have increased more than inflation since 2022. This claim has prompted concerns regarding the accuracy of his statements and their potential impact on public perception of energy costs.
The evidence is not abstract. It is real, it is dangerous, and it requires immediate justice, called on an unknown UN representative, reflecting the call of many advocates who have pushed for immediate climate action.
The science of climate change has a surprising past. It extends 169 years back to the pioneering experiments of Eunice Foote, through which she demonstrated that carbon dioxide absorbs more heat than it would under natural atmospheric conditions. Despite regularly catching flak during Trump’s presidency for dismantling important environmental safeguards, this rollback has severely impacted air and water quality throughout the country.
In his remarks, Trump called renewable energy a “waste” and “very, very expensive.” Last month, the president denied wind power was a real jobs creator, calling it a “joke” and “pathetic.” He stuck to these alternatives being too costly and unfeasible. His administration’s stance on coal was equally controversial. He once stated, “I have a little standing order in the White House. Never use the word ‘coal.’ Only use the words ‘clean, beautiful coal.’ Sounds much better, doesn’t it?”
Environmental justice advocates have rightly criticized that type of rhetoric for painting an inaccurate and false rosy picture of coal’s environmental legacy. Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist, contended, “The president can pretend coal is clean, but real people — mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters— will die for this lie.”
The need for urgent action to tackle climate change was highlighted by personal testimonies from people on the frontlines of its effects. Evans Davie Njewa remarked, “We are endangering the lives of innocent people in the world,” highlighting the moral imperative to act decisively.
At the same time, conversations about global treaties such as the Paris Agreement keep advancing. Though voluntary in nature, this document is self-binding. It calls on countries to set more ambitious targets for emissions reductions and to increase financing for developing nations most impacted by the impacts of climate change. The time for closer coordination and more ambitious and equitable action by all countries is now, or the world will set itself further behind the most disadvantaged countries.
To this day, Trump is still proclaiming climate science a hoax and killing off renewable energy initiatives. At the same time, millions of environmental advocates pledge to continue fighting climate change more determinedly than ever. Lucy Woodall articulated concerns about misrepresentation within the debate: “It is sad to see marine debris, a globally important issue, being misrepresented so completely.”
Nusa Urbancic summed it up well when she said that the divisive climate language is patently anti-environment. “This polarizing and divisive language misrepresents the environmental message,” she noted.
