Donald Trump has appeared to suggest that a network of conspirators were pushing the Paris climate agreement in order to steal American wealth.
Mr Trump announced that the United States would be pulling out of that landmark agreement during a speech from the White House Rose Garden, heavily emphasising his belief that the deal hurts American jobs to the benefit of foreign nations.
The Paris climate agreement “handicaps the US economy in order to win praise from the very global activists… that have long sought to gain wealth at our expense,” Mr Trump said in the Rose Garden, before appearing to suggest something a bit more sinister was at work behind the scenes. “You see what’s happening. It’s pretty obvious to those who keep an open mind.”
Withdrawing from the climate agreement drew immediate ire from Democrats in Washington - former President Barack Obama - the international community, and climate activists working to curb or stop the impacts of climate change on the world.
The decision puts the United States in a small group of nations that are not a part of the Paris accord. While the US played a pivotal roll in leading negotiations on the Paris climate change agreement under the direction of former President Barack Obama, it now sits with just Nicaragua and Syria outside of the global group participating in Paris.
While Mr Trump argued that he was acting in order to boost American energy jobs and security, major energy companies urged him not to retreat from the Paris accord in the weeks leading up to his announcement. That included the CEO of Shell, as well Exxon shareholders, the former employer of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Mr Trump had previously said that he thinks that climate change is a hoax, and had openly mocked the concept on the 2016 campaign trail.
