Last US Presidential Debate: Trump Talks About Dirty Air In China, Russia And India

Donald Trump (Sumber: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The President of the United States (US) Donald Trump mentioned the dirty air of China, Russia and China, when discussing the issue of climate change at the last US Presidential Candidate Debate. That is one reason why he led the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement which he said would make his country less competitive.

"Look at China, how dirty it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. The air is dirty. I walked out of the Paris Agreement because we had to spend trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly," Trump said.

"I am not going to sacrifice millions of jobs for thousands of companies because of the Paris Agreement. This is very unfair," he said.

The US President's statement drew angry reactions in India. Several Twitter users urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give a strong response to Trump's remarks. This momentum was also used by Indian opposition leader Kapil Sibal to criticize PM Modi, who often refers to Trump as his friend.

Trump: Fruits of Friendship 1) Questions India's COVID death toll 2) Says India sends dirt up into the air India "air is filthy" 3) Called India "tariff king" The result of "Howdy Modi"!

- Kapil Sibal (@apilSibal) October 23, 2020

To quote NDTV, Friday 23 October, in 2017, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the global agreement the US President before Trump, Barack Obama. The Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius.

Trump's remarks come days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper visit New Delhi, India. During the visit, they plan to discuss the development of the US-India partnership relationship.

In fact, India is the fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. The country contributed seven percent of global emissions in 2017, according to the Global Carbon Project published in December 2018.While the top four emitters in 2017, accounting for 58 percent of global emissions, were China (27 percent), USA (15 percent), European Union (10 percent) and India (7 percent).

Biden is different

Meanwhile Trump's rival, Joe Biden, is talking more clearly about climate and pollution issues. The reason is, Biden is familiar with this theme which has become the main debate in the Democratic Party.

Biden described growing near Claymont, Delaware, in an area near the Delaware River with an abundance of refineries. He explained how problems related to environmental pollution can result in empirical climate change.

“My response is that these people live in a place they call the fence-lines. (Trump) doesn't understand this, "said Biden. "They live near chemical factories, which in fact are polluting, chemical factories and oil factories and refineries are polluting."

In addition, Biden also proposed a 100 percent clean electricity standard by 2035 following a proposal originally offered by Washington Governor Jay Inslee and later accepted by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. The aim of the proposal is to mark a clear shift by Biden to reduce fossil fuel consumption to combat climate change.