Trump advisors urge European nations to disregard climate change concerns
In a recent visit to Brussels, US President Donald Trump's Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, and finance cop Paul Atkins, found themselves at the heart of a heated debate on climate change. Wright, a former oil man, did not deny the existence of climate change but stated its effects have been exaggerated. Contrastingly, Atkins believes global warming poses no serious threat to financial stability. Their views echo the ongoing climate change discourse in the US, where President Trump has withdrawn the country from the Paris climate agreement and unleashed a barrage of domestic anti-green reforms since moving into the White House in January. One of these reforms involves the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plans to stop measuring the emissions of some of the U.S.'s top polluters. Additionally, Trump has wound back his predecessor Joe Biden's tax breaks for low-carbon technology. Across the Atlantic, the European Union (EU) is grappling with its own climate change challenges. European industry is struggling with high energy costs and intense competition from China. Member countries are struggling to reach an agreement on the EU's 2040 emissions target. To ease the burden, EU lawmakers are reviewing a proposal to slash rules requiring companies to report on their impacts on the environment. However, the EU is under pressure to wind back its stringent climate rules, both internally and from other countries like the US. Wright urged countries to stop subsidizing renewable energy because it has little impact on emissions but is costly for industry. In a surprising claim, Wright stated that the chance of dying from an extreme weather event is at a record low in history. He also claimed that 20% of children have nightmares about climate change, though the source of these statistics was not cited. Meanwhile, Atkins disagrees with the European Central Bank's stance that climate change poses real risks to the financial system. He believes it is not the place of financial regulators to police the climate-related policies of businesses. Wright suggested artificial intelligence could help solve climate change by cracking the problem of harnessing nuclear fusion to generate electricity in a decade or so. This optimistic view contrasts with the more urgent warnings from climate scientists. The debate on climate change continues to be a contentious issue, with differing perspectives and actions on both sides of the Atlantic. As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, it remains to be seen how these differing views will shape the future of climate policy.
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