Climate Change

On Monday, when asked about the [National Assessment] report’s conclusion that climate change will wreak havoc on the US economy, President Trump said “I don’t believe it.” Yesterday, the White House doubled down on its climate denial, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders questioning the methodology and conclusions of the climate report and saying it was “not based on facts.” That phrase is a fitting description for the talking points offered up by the White House. With one exception, none of these points is factually accurate:"

"Like the years before, U.S. utilities kept on retiring coal-fired power plants in President Donald Trump's first year in office even as the administration proclaimed an Obama-era "war on coal" was over. In 2018, they doubled their pace."

"At least seven state governments are poised at the brink of putting a price on climate-warming carbon emissions within the next year. Some are considering new carbon taxes or fees. Others are making plans to join regional carbon markets."

"Atlantic and polar cod face a double whammy as the planet warms: rising ocean temperatures and acidification could cut reproduction by nearly two-thirds, study says."

"Brazil this week pulled out of hosting next year’s United Nations global summit meeting on climate change, the latest signal that Latin America’s largest nation no longer aspires to be an influential player in efforts to mitigate the effects of a warming planet."

"Crop yields are declining. Tropical diseases like dengue fever are showing up in unfamiliar places, including in the United States. Tens of millions of people are exposed to extreme heat. These are the stark findings of a wide-ranging scientific report that lays out the growing risks of climate change for human health and predicts that cascading hazards could soon face millions more people in rich and poor countries around the world."

"Think of it as the policy muscle behind the promised 'Green New Deal.' A policy group is being formed to support an energized progressive movement that's taken Capitol Hill by storm under the leadership of Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)."

"The world’s largest pork producer is teaming up with a Virginia-based energy company to harness methane gas from thousands of malodorous hog lagoons to both heat homes and combat climate change."

"A group of House lawmakers last night floated the first bipartisan carbon tax bill in nearly a decade, a move that boosters are calling a big step for climate policy heading into the next Congress."

"One of Poland’s leading coal companies has become the first official sponsor of the UN climate talks, which start in the southern city of Katowice next week."