Climate change a ‘scam,’ Trump tells UNGA in first address since return to office

Calling the phenomenon a “scam,” Trump said: “It used to be global cooling. If you look back in the 1920s and 1930s, they said global cooling would kill the world. Then they said global warming would kill the world. But then it started getting cooler. So now they just call it climate change, because if it goes higher or lower, whatever happens, it’s climate change.”

Trump added: “It’s the greatest con job ever, in my opinion. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that doomed their countries’ fortunes. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”

The remarks come ahead of the 2025 UN Climate Summit, where nations are expected to present updated climate action plans.

Meanwhile, in January, NASA reported that Earth’s average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record.

Global temperatures were 2.30 degrees Fahrenheit (1.28 degrees Celsius) above the agency’s mid-20th century baseline (1951–1980), surpassing the record set in 2023.

The new high followed 15 consecutive months of record-breaking heat, from June 2023 through August 2024.

Also Read: Study finds Europe recorded 62,775 heat-related deaths during the summer of 2024

“Once again, the temperature record has been shattered — 2024 was the hottest year since record keeping began in 1880,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Between record-breaking temperatures and wildfires threatening our centers and workforce in California, it has never been more important to understand our changing planet.”

Europe experiences extreme impacts

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) estimated that 62,775 heat-related deaths occurred across the continent between June 1 and September 30, 2024.

The figure was 23.6% higher than the roughly 50,800 deaths recorded in the summer of 2023, though 8.1% lower than the nearly 67,900 in 2022. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.