America Risk Being Left Behind By The Clean Energy Revolution

New US President Donald Trump turning a blind eye to climate change is an act of economic self-sabotage and will damage American interests, warns Christian Aid.

Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead, Mohamed Adow, said the global transition to a zero carbon economy would not be held up by one man.

He said: “Last year’s Paris Agreement showed the world was united in its concern about climate change and its commitment to decarbonising the global economy. The rest of the world will not risk a global climate catastrophe because of one man’s opposition.

“The economics of energy are already changing rapidly, home grown wind and solar are increasingly becoming the cheapest forms of energy and falling costs in technology continue to show us the direction of travel.

“The benefits are already being recognised by a number of US states which are harnessing their abundant clean energy resources.

“It’s also popular with the American public. A recent Pew Research Centre study showed that 83 per cent of American adults support expanding wind farms, while 89 per cent support solar expansion.

“On a practical point, now that the Paris Agreement has come into force no country can easily withdraw for at least three years. Even if the US wanted to do so at that point it would suffer considerably, both a political and diplomatic cost as well as putting itself at the back of the pack on the benefits of clean tech.

“Although the US will certainly suffer from any obstruction of efforts to stop climate change, it also risks the lives of millions of the world’s poorest people who have done nothing to cause the problem yet are the most vulnerable to its effects.”