As small island states are facing rising seas and vulnerable nations grapple with deadly floods, heat waves and hurricanes, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told the United Nations General Assembly that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
Trump’s remarks, among his strongest dismissals of climate science to date, stood in stark contrast to the lived realities of many leaders present and decades of scientific evidence.
Trump said, “This ‘climate change,’ it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion.”
“These predictions were wrong, made by stupid people that cost their countries fortunes. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
Pushback from vulnerable nations
Ilana Seid, Palau’s ambassador and head of the group of small island states, said the rhetoric was expected but deeply concerning.
“Not acting on climate change will be a betrayal of the most vulnerable,” she said.
Evans Davie Njewa of Malawi agreed with the concern, warning that “we are endangering the lives of innocent people in the world.”
For Adelle Thomas, vice chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the issue is personal.
A Bahamian scientist with over 40 studies to her name, Thomas recalled the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “Millions around the world can testify to the devastation climate change has brought. The evidence is not abstract—it is lived, it is deadly, and it demands urgent action,” she said.
On renewable energy
Trump called renewable energy “a joke” and “pathetic,” claiming it is too expensive and unreliable. Yet, UN and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reports show that solar and wind are now the cheapest and fastest-growing energy sources worldwide.
“If the free market truly decided, fossil fuels would be disappearing even faster,” said climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump also claimed European power bills are “two to three times higher” than those in the US, but the US Energy Information Administration reports that American electricity prices have risen faster than inflation since 2022 and are projected to keep climbing.
On the Paris Agreement
Trump again derided the Paris climate accord as “fake,” arguing that America paid more than other nations. In reality, the 2015 agreement set voluntary national targets for all countries.
Historically, the US has emitted more heat-trapping carbon dioxide than any nation—24% of global emissions since 1850, compared with Africa’s 3%, despite its far larger population.
On coal and carbon emissions
Trump instructed his officials to use the phrase “clean, beautiful coal,” dismissing concerns over fossil fuels. Scientists, however, say coal pollution kills millions annually.
“The president can pretend coal is clean, but real people will die for this lie,” said Stanford University’s Rob Jackson.
He further labeled the concept of a “carbon footprint” a hoax, though experts note the term originated with oil companies to shift responsibility from corporations to individuals.
The IPCC has consistently concluded: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” Even Trump’s own administration in 2018 acknowledged that climate impacts were already being felt in the US.
On cows, methane and blame
Trump suggested environmentalists want to eliminate cows, calling it an example of radicalism. In reality, no one has proposed banning cattle, though scientists stress that methane emissions from livestock are a major contributor to global warming. Cutting methane, experts say, would be a “quick win” in slowing heating.
Trump also blamed foreign countries for dirty air and ocean pollution. Yet researchers emphasize that most US air and water pollution comes from local industries and weakened environmental protections.
“It is sad to see marine debris, a globally important issue, being misrepresented so completely,” said Lucy Woodall, a marine conservation professor at the University of Exeter.