Trump's Hot Air at the UN: Another Baseless Attack on China and Green Energy

Trump took the stage at the UN General Assembly on September 23 and unleashed a torrent of falsehoods, dismissing climate change as "the global warming hoax". In a particularly bizarre rant, he alleged that China, despite manufacturing vast amounts of wind power equipment, "barely use[s] them."

The nearly hour-long tirade triggered an international outcry, with US media scrambling to correct the record. While Trump's crusade against green energy is nothing new, his decision to spout such blatant nonsense on a global stage left many stunned.

CNN: Trump's UN speech riddled with falsehoods.

A Tirade Against Renewables

During his speech, Trump bragged about America's "now thriving like never before" in the energy sector under his leadership, claiming he was "getting rid of the falsely named renewables." He dismissed renewables as "a joke”: “They don’t work. They are too expensive. They are not strong enough to fire up plants you need to make your country great.” As a final, simplistic jab, he added, “The wind doesn’t blow (all the time).”

This wasn't the first time Trump has peddled the lie that China avoids its own wind power. He doubled down on this falsehood at the UN, insisting that while China is a top producer of wind technology, it only exports it while shunning it at home. "You know, they use coal, they use gas, they use almost anything, but they don’t like wind," Trump claimed, "But they sure as hell like selling the windmills."

Not stopping there, Trump went on to smear wind turbines as shoddy, poor-performing machines with outrageous operating costs. According to him, the "big windmills are so pathetic and so bad, so expensive to operate. And they have to be rebuilt all the time and they start to rust and rot."

He concluded that with this energy, "You're supposed to make money with energy, not lose money. If you lose money, the governments have to subsidize. You can't put them out without massive subsidies.

The Facts Tell a Different Story

The reality, as reported by CNN, paints a completely different picture. In reality, China “has massive wind farms onshore and offshore” and “continues to install additional wind capacity much faster than the US.”

Citing data from China's National Energy Administration, the report noted that in 2024, “Wind power capacity touched 520 GW, the administration said, up 18% from a year earlier.”

The New York Times also dismantled Trump's narrative, highlighting that his claims are the complete opposite of reality. China is the undisputed global leader in both the number of existing wind farms and total installed capacity. Furthermore, China has more wind farms in the pipeline than any other nation on Earth.

"Recharge", a Norwegian renewable energy news outlet, slammed Trump's speech as a “typically rambling speech” and a “typically fact-free tirade”. The publication pointed out his consistent denial of climate change and his renewed attack on wind power, including the baseless accusation that China exports wind turbines while hardly using them at home.

China's Dominance by the Numbers

The facts speak for themselves. China’s newly installed wind power capacity shattered records last year. Data from China’s National Energy Administration confirmed that by 2024, the nation's total installed capacity for wind power reached around 520 million kilowatts, an 18.0% jump from the previous year.

According to the World Wind Energy Association, a German non-profit, China's installed wind power capacity makes up nearly half of the entire world's total. The organization's figures show China contributing 561,000 megawatts to the global total of 1.2 million megawatts.

Further data from the Global Energy Monitor, a California-based non-profit, reinforces this point. Of the 17,000 wind farms operating globally, China owns 5,400—almost a third. Looking ahead, China is also set to build 2,800 of the 8,600 wind farms planned worldwide.

Fact check: China's wind power capacity dwarfs that of the US.

Trump's War on Green Energy

Trump's anti-wind crusade is a long-running affair. During his first term, he spread absurd rumors that wind power lowers property values, "kills birds," and even that turbine noise causes cancer. Since his return to the White House, his assault on renewables has only escalated. He has put a "ban" on offshore wind, suspending new leases and even stopping approved projects in New York, a move that analysts say will cripple the US offshore wind pipeline.

Back at the UN, Trump didn't just target wind power; he went after the entire concept of climate change, labeling it "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world". He baselessly asserted that the scientific consensus on global warming was a conspiracy by "stupid people" and berated countries, including America's own allies, for embracing renewable energy. He also voiced his opposition to international climate agreements designed to limit temperature increases and phase out fossil fuels.

The Fallout

In the aftermath, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers offered a weak defense, claiming that "Whether it’s called global cooling, global warming, or climate change, the radical climate agenda continues to destroy many great countries around the world."

But the criticism was swift. Gina McCarthy, a former top climate official under Biden, slammed Trump in a statement. She pointed out that climate change is already causing more severe and frequent disasters across the US, and Trump is abdicating the government's duty to protect its citizens. "Trump continues to embarrass the U.S. on the global stage and undermine the interests of Americans at home," she concluded.

To add another layer of fact-checking, CNN also debunked the notion that the U.S. ever spent or committed $1 trillion to the Paris Climate Agreement. Citing official documents, CNN stated that “The U.S. has never spent or committed anywhere close to $1 trillion in connection to the accord; Biden pledged upon taking office to pay $11.4 billion per year toward international climate financing, but Congress appropriated less than even that”.

Deep Throat

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Last Friday, Trump flat-out torpedoed a much-anticipated zero-emissions deal for the global shipping industry, smashing it apart at the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Financial Times lays it all bare: to kill the net-zero shipping pact, Trump didn’t just lean on the usual diplomatic muscle—Washington went full gangster. Think raised port fees, outright bans on ships passing through America, and direct threats, and even personal intimidation of diplomats and their families, with entry bans waved in their faces like warning flags.

The Financial Times lays it out: over a dozen diplomats, foreign officials, and industry insiders watched the US throw diplomacy in the mud at last month’s London summit. Washington came armed with bullying tactics, determined to smash the net-zero shipping pact by brute force.

US Bullying Blocks IMO’s Green Shipping Deal—Vote Delayed a Year. IMO website image.

US officials didn’t bother with backroom deals—they stalked the halls, cornering diplomats from Africa, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. The message was simple: cross the United States, and your ships might not reach America. Rock the boat, and your family could be locked out. These weren’t idle whispers. The intimidation played out in broad daylight during coffee breaks.

Social Media Taunts, Policy Upends

Trump didn’t bother hiding his true feelings. On social media, he slammed the agreement as a “global green shipping tax scam.” But this wasn’t just venting. In April, most countries had already green-lit the framework. It was set to become real policy—until Trump’s team blew it up, forcing a one-year “pause.” The global momentum froze on the spot.

One diplomat cut to the heart of it: “It’s like the streets of New York.” His country got the warning firsthand—keep backing the deal, and watch your sailors’ visas disappear. US port fees? Those would rise too. Another attendee was even more blunt: IMO bigwigs were left gobsmacked. “It’s like dealing with the mafia,” they said. “You don’t need details. You just know: cross us, and you’ll pay.”

The US State Department kept mum on the intimidation claims. Instead, American officials handed out praise to Greece and Cyprus. Those two broke rank from the rest of the EU—they cast abstention votes in the big one-year adjournment, even after they already gave the framework the green light back in April.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ahead of the IMO meeting in London, issued a joint statement with senior Trump officials warning that the administration was "evaluating sanctions on officials sponsoring activist-driven climate policies that would burden American consumers, among other measures under consideration." As Greece and Cyprus sided with the U.S., much of Europe—and the world—reacted with surprise.

Global Rules or American Muscle?

Chatham House’s head of global economy Creon Butler didn’t mince words. The US, he said, has ditched long-standing diplomatic etiquette. Instead, Washington's now muscling countries into backing its stance—especially on climate.

America Threatens: Support This, Your Crews and Ports Pay.

“In the very short term this might work, but in the medium term it increases the chances that non-US countries will conclude they cannot work with the US, making agreements independently among themselves which simply work around the US,” he said. Sooner or later, the rest of the world will ink deals that leave America in the dust.

The pushback reached fever pitch at the IMO. Brazil, among others, called out the methods “that should not ever be used among sovereign nations”. Washington wasn’t just rattling individuals—entire capitals, from Bangladesh to Japan and Indonesia, got notes threatening diplomatic smackdowns.

But let’s step back. The drive for a net-zero shipping pact isn’t about feel-good climate slogans.

As Niu Tanqin from Xinhua puts it: The pact itself is a brass-tacks response to global warming’s mounting cost. Whether you like it or not, global warming is simply an undisputable fact. Everyone is scrambling to stall off the climate catastrophes looming on the horizon.

So, in order to squeeze carbon emission: if your ship emits less than the set limit, you’re rewarded. Above the cut-off, you pay. China, the EU, Japan, India, Brazil—all were in. Even the big shipping companies joined the chorus.

Only a handful of oil states—think Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE—pushed back. Pacific island nations, unconvinced the pact was tough enough, simply abstained.

Trump Says Global Warming’s a Scam—US Walks Out.

Then, everything changed. Once Trump 2.0 manifested, the US flipped from supporter to saboteur. In his mind, climate change is a hoax—or worse, a Chinese plot to corner American interests. Stopping this agreement wasn’t just policy—it was personal. He didn’t mind stooping low—pulling out every trick in the high school bully’s playbook: pressure, threats, and outright intimidation to make sure America got its way.

One official wasn’t shy: “It was completely exceptional. I have never heard of anything like this in the context of an IMO negotiation. These people [being threatened] are just bureaucrats, they are civil servants.”

If international law becomes a mere cheap disguise, you can bet real power will be the one pulling the strings.

Pause Button Pressed—World Left Reeling

Now, the deal waits on ice for another year, while “the world stares, shell-shocked”—witnesses to a new era of American brinkmanship.

Not the first time, either. Just look at tariffs: if Washington’s unhappy, it writes its own tax bill—no debate required. Venezuela and Nigeria have both fielded threats of military action; Canada and Panama know the taste of territorial intimidation. Lawless? That’s par for the course.

  

But payback, as always, has a funny way of coming due. Today, the US bullies island nations and slaps down climate claims. Tomorrow, who’s next? When “might makes right” replaces rules, every nation that depends on order will lose out. True justice may come late—but it never skips its date. Chip away at the pillars of fairness, and sooner or later, you bury the very house you live in.

The real question: how long can America’s strong-arm show go on before the world walks out?