The man who’s set to lead the Senate committee in charge of environmental policy slammed a groundbreaking new climate deal between the United States and China as a “charade.”
In a statement Wednesday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) called the ambitious treaty a “non-binding charade” that would require the U.S. to slash its carbon emissions without requiring any reduction on China’s part.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also denounced the deal. Its terms stipulate that the U.S. cut carbon emissions between 26 and 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2025, while China is expected to cap its emissions by 2030. That means China may pump carbon dioxide into the air for another 16 years.
Inhofe is a vocal denier of climate change as well as the author of a book titled “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.”
Read Inhofe’s full statement below:
“In the President’s climate change deal, the United States will be required to more steeply reduce our carbon emissions while China won’t have to reduce anything. It’s hollow and not believable for China to claim it will shift 20 percent of its energy to non-fossil fuels by 2030, and a promise to peak its carbon emissions only allows the world’s largest economy to buy time. China builds a coal-fired power plant every 10 days, is the largest importer of coal in the world, and has no known reserves of natural gas. This deal is a non-binding charade. The American people spoke against the President’s climate policies in this last election. They want affordable energy and more economic opportunity, both which are being diminished by overbearing EPA mandates. As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to reign in and shed light on the EPA’s unchecked regulations.”
