Carney on Thursday addressed criticism of Canada’s response to natural disasters and focused on the United States’ own opposition to climate policy.
“Each of us has a different responsibility,” he told reporters in French. “Right now we are focusing on investing in clean energy, but we have a mode of production in the United States that works against clean energy.” “And while Canada is increasing its global footprint, the U.S. is shrinking its global footprint.”
Since returning to office, President Trump has suspended U.S. support for dozens of international climate change initiatives and research groups. In March, a group of universities sued the Trump administration, accusing it of trying to dismantle the nation’s largest federal climate research center.
More than 100 million people remained under air pollution alerts Friday as smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Canada continued to envelop major cities including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City.
The situation also raises concerns about Sunday’s World Cup final, which President Trump is scheduled to watch in New Jersey, where air quality continued to be poor over the weekend.
The president has repeatedly touted the tournament’s success and even suggested at Friday’s FIFA reception that the United States should host the World Cup again. President Trump also quipped that the next time the United States hosts a convention, “Mexico and Canada should be excluded.”
President Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Canada on Friday came after his administration announced plans on July 1 to withdraw from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which for the past six years has been seen as key to stabilizing all of North America.
