President Donald Trump railed against the Paris climate accord on Sunday, telling world leaders at a virtual summit that the agreement was designed to cripple the U.S. economy, not save the planet.
“To protect American workers, I withdrew the United States from the unfair and one-sided Paris climate accord, a very unfair act for the United States,” Trump said in a video statement from the White House to the Group of 20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. His comments came during a discussion among the world's largest economies on safeguarding the Earth.
President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office in January, has said he will rejoin the global pact that the U.S. helped forge five years ago.
Trump contended the international accord was “not designed to save the environment. It was designed to kill the American economy."
Trump, who has worked to undo most of President Barack Obama’s efforts to fight climate change, said that since withdrawing from the climate agreement, the U.S. has reduced carbon emissions more than any nation.
That is true, but not that remarkable. With its giant economy, the U.S. has far more raw emissions of climate-damaging carbon dioxide to cut than any other country except China.
A more telling measure of progress in various countries is to look at what percentage of emissions a county has cut. Since 2005, the United States hasn’t been even in the top 10 in percentage of greenhouse gas emission reductions.
More than 180 nations have ratified the accord, which aims to keep the increase in average temperatures worldwide “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and ideally no more than 1.5C (2.7 F), compared with pre-industrial levels. Scientists say that any rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius could have a devastating impact on large parts of the world, raising sea levels, stoking tropical storms and worsening droughts and floods.
The U.S. formally exited the Paris pact on Nov. 4. On Saturday, the U.S. formally left the Open Skies Treaty, which permits 30-plus nations to conduct unarmed, observation flights over each other’s territory. Those overflights were set up decades ago to promote trust and avert conflict.
The administration said it wanted out of the treaty because Russia was violating the pact, and imagery collected during the flights can be obtained quickly at less cost from U.S. or commercial satellites.
During the discussions at the climate session, President Xi Jinping of China, the world's largest emitter, said the G-20 should continue to take the lead in tackling climate change and push for the full implementation of the Paris accord.
“Not long ago, I announced China’s initiative to scale up its nationally determined contributions and strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060,” he said. “China will honor its commitment and see the implementation through.”
India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, said “climate change must be fought not in silos, but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers worked Friday to round out the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear Donald Trump's hush money trial, as the former president railed against a gag order that has prosecutors seeking to hold him in contempt of court.
After a jury of 12 New Yorkers was seated Thursday, lawyers turned their attention to picking alternates who can vow to impartially judge the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Thursday's proceedings demonstrated the unpredictability of the jury selection process in such a high-profile case, with two jurors who had been seated a day earlier being dismissed from the panel.
The judge has suggested that opening statements could begin as early as Monday, before prosecutors begin laying out their case alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories Trump feared would hurt his 2016 presidential campaign.
The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden. It will feature salacious and unflattering testimony his opponent will no doubt seize on to try to paint Trump as unfit to return as commander in chief.
Trump says he did nothing wrong, and has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system bent on keeping him out of the White House.
The judge and lawyers have spent days quizzing New Yorkers about their views on Trump, and dozens have been dismissed after saying they couldn't be fair. Those chosen to hear the case so far include a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist, multiple lawyers, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.
As more potential jurors were questioned Friday, Trump appeared to lean over at the defense table, scribbling on some papers and exchanging notes with one of his lawyers.
He occasionally perked up and gazed at the jury box, including when one would-be juror said he had volunteered in a “get out the vote” effort for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Another prospective juror got Trump's attention when he mentioned that he follows the White House Instagram account, including when Trump was in office. Trump shot a grin at one man who was asked if he was married and joked that he had been trying to find a wife in his spare time, but “it’s not working.”
One potential juror was let go after reflecting and saying that she didn't believe she could be impartial. Another person told the judge she had no strong feelings about Trump and didn't believe anything would influence her decision in the case.
After arriving at the courthouse Friday, Trump complained about the gag order imposed by the judge that limits what he can publicly say about witnesses. He has lashed out on social media about the judge, prosecutors and likely witnesses, prompting the district attorney's office to seek sanctions for possible gag order violations. The judge will hold a hearing next week on prosecutors' request to hold Trump in contempt.
“The gag order has to come off. People are allowed to speak about me, and I have a gag order," Trump said.
Judge Juan M. Merchan is also expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Trump's prior legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case. Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.
The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.
Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.
Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it’s not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.
Trump is involved in four criminal cases, but it’s not clear that any others will reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have caused delays in the other three cases charging Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results and with illegally hoarding classified documents.
Richer reported from Washington.
Former President Donald Trump speaks with the media while holding news clippings following his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)
Former president Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 19, 2024, in New York. Jury selection in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is set to resume after a frenetic day that eventually saw all 12 jurors sworn in along with one alternate juror. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former president Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 19, 2024, in New York. Jury selection in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is set to resume after a frenetic day that eventually saw all 12 jurors sworn in along with one alternate juror. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York.Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Former President Donald Trump returns from a break at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool Photo via AP)
