Washington, Jan 21 (IANS): President Donald Trump on Monday slammed China as the reason for his withdrawal of the US from the Paris Climate Accord in a significant departure from his announcement in his first term in 2017 when he also blamed India.
"I'm immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord rip off the United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity," Trump told supporters at a sporting arena where they had waited for his speech all day.
They had come to the capital from all over the country to participate in the inauguration that has traditionally been held outdoors at the US Capitol. This time, the event was moved indoors and the supporters were moved to the sporting arena to watch the event on giant TV screens.
"You know, China, and look, they use a lot of dirty energy, but they produce a lot of energy, and when that stuff goes up in the air, you know, it doesn't stay there. It's not like you have a wall. We love walls that way. Not like you have a wall around and it just doesn't. It floats into the United States of America after three and a half to five and a half days, it floats across the oceans, and it comes right over your neighborhood, and it falls into your neighborhood. So they all say we have to fight for cleaner air, but the other dirty air is dropping all over us. So what the hell are they talking about? Unless everybody does it. It just doesn't work."
So the US is out of the Paris Climate Accord once again.
Trump announced the withdrawal as he got down to work even before the celebration had ended by signing executive orders rescinding a large number of regulations of the Biden administration in full view of cheering supporters who had waited all day for it at the sporting arena.
The President is "signing the rescission of 78 Biden-era executive actions, executive orders, presidential memoranda, and others", the announcer said at the President's prompting, who had signed the order at a stable set up for him at the arena with the presidential seal.