Two Democratic governors, California’s Gavin Newsom and New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham, were in Brazil to attend the summit, representing state-level U.S. efforts to curb emissions.
“What the hell is going on here?” Newsom asked at a global investors’ summit in São Paulo on Monday, where he fired off a characteristic criticism of the Trump administration. “We’re in Brazil — one of our great trading partners, one of the world’s great democracies. Home to all the rare earth metals we need. This is the country we should be engaging with, not slapping with 50% tariffs.”
Ten years ago, 195 nations taking part in the COP21 summit signed onto the landmark Paris Agreement, intended to commit individual nations to take measures that, collectively, would limit the rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective in the agreement, which the Obama administration signed, was to pursue efforts to cap the global temperature increase at 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels.
That target now appears out of reach.
Why do people keep asking the same questions? It’s clear what’s going on. Trump turned the government into a profit arm for himself and his buddies. I don’t know what else you want. I guess everyone is fine with it.