Donald Trump declares victory over climate change ‘hoax’ after Bill Gates says warming will not end civilisation
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump claimed victory Wednesday over what he called the “hoax” of climate change.
Trump made the declaration after billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said a warming world would not end civilization.
“I (WE!) just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Bill Gates has finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue.”
“It took courage to do so, and for that we are all grateful.”
Microsoft co-founder Gates said in a long memo this week that climate change “will not lead to humanity’s demise.”
Gates added that while climate change would have “serious” consequences, “people will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future.”
He argued that tackling global disease and poverty would instead help prepare the planet’s poorest for a warming world.
Gates acknowledged that critics may charge him with hypocrisy because of his significant carbon footprint.
He also noted some might argue the memo was a “sneaky way of arguing that we shouldn’t take climate change seriously.”
But he pointed to significant progress in cutting emissions to date.
Gates said he was optimistic future technology would do so even more.
Trump has been a long-term skeptic on environmental issues.
He trashed climate change as the “greatest con job ever” in an address to the UN General Assembly in September.
The Republican has rolled back green policies since returning to power in January.
His victorious 2024 election campaign received hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from Big Oil. – AFP
