India, China benefited most from "disastrous" Paris Climate Agreement: Trump
What's the story
Reiterating the US didn't get any advantage from Paris Climate Accord, President Trump once again accused India and China of benefiting the most from the deal. "We knocked out the Paris Climate Accord. It would have been a disaster...for our country," stated Trump at Conservative Political Action Conference. He defended his policy on climate change and his decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement. Here's more.
Paris Agreement
Trump withdraws US from climate deal
In Jun'17, Trump announced his decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris Climate Accord signed by over 190 nations. He said he would have a new "fair" deal that benefits the US, as the climate deal was hitting jobs and businesses in US, arguing that countries like China and India are benefiting more from it. The move was met with global condemnation.
Information
China and US, world's largest polluters
Announcing the US was pulling out of the Paris climate deal, Trump accused India and China of benefiting from it at the US's expense. China and the US are the world's largest polluters responsible for 40% of the world's emissions while India accounts for 4.1%.
Details
Paris Deal didn't want US to use wealth, power: Trump
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump claimed the Paris Deal basically wanted to take the US's wealth away. Trump said that the US has great technology, oil & gas, massive energy reserves, and a lot of coal but the deal didn't allow the US to use its power, making it "uncompetitive with other countries." He added he wasn't going to let this happen.
Other Countries
The US had to pay because of other countries
Commenting on how Paris deal was helping other countries, Trump said while China's climate deal "didn't kick in until 2030...Our agreement kicks in immediately." He added, "Other countries, big countries--India and others--we had to pay because they considered them a growing country." Trump suggested that India and China aren't doing anything about climate change while the US suffers because of the Paris deal.
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India, China allowed to grow, but what about US?
President Trump said the Paris Climate Agreement called big countries like "India a developing nation. They call China a developing nation. But, the United States? (They say) We're developed. We can pay. (But) Now, are we allowed to grow, too?"
Understanding
Trump asks people if they understand about Paris Accord
Addressing the CPAC, Trump asserted his country was in favor of his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris deal. He added the agreement "sounds so good" with "the most beautiful titles" and suggested that many, especially those opposing his policy, haven't actually understood anything about the deal properly. At the conference, Trump called the Paris Agreement "totally disastrous," "job-killing," and "wealth-knocking out."
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The country knows what I'm doing
"We (the US) couldn't build. We couldn't farm. If you had a puddle on your land, they called it a lake for the purposes of environmental. I mean, it's crazy," said President Trump, suggesting the US didn't get any advantage from the Paris Climate deal.