U.S. delegation promotes fossil fuels at COP23, spits in the face of victims of climate change

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government delegation at the United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany will hold an official event promoting fossil fuels on Monday, November 13. The presentation comes as Donald Trump wraps up his five-nation tour of Asia, where he has pushed a wide array of fossil fuel deals.

Karen Orenstein, Deputy Director of Economic Policy at Friends of the Earth U.S., issued the following statement in response:

Donald Trump has spent the past week and a half traipsing around Asia peddling climate pollution. At the same time, U.S. government representatives are extolling the virtues of fossil fuels at the year’s most important international climate talks. This is a slap in the face to countries that are party to the Paris Agreement — literally every nation on Earth except the United States. Worse still, Trump’s actions demonstrate callous disregard — and possibly even genuine malevolence — toward people in poor countries whose lives and livelihoods have been threatened, diminished, and in some cases destroyed by the devastating effects of climate change. The Trump Administration should be held criminally accountable for what they are doing in the U.S. and around the world on climate change.

Expert Contact: Karen Orenstein, (202) 222-0717, [email protected]
Communications Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]