OTTAWA (Reuters) – If Republican frontrunner Donald Trump wins the 2024 U.S. election it could harm the global effort to fight climate change, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview aired on Friday.
Trump, who denies the science of climate change, said last week that if elected he would renege on a $3 billion U.S. pledge to a global fund meant to help developing countries cut emissions. Trump has made attacking the Biden administration’s investments in renewable energy a core part of his campaign message.
“Yes, there’s a concern particularly around the environment at a time where it’s so important to move forward on protecting and building an economy of the future,” Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
“A Trump presidency that goes back on the fight against climate change would slow down the world’s progress in ways that are concerning to me,” he said, describing Trump’s approach to the climate during his presidency as “a menace not just to Canada but to the world”.
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which outlined massive investments to accelerate the green transition, prompted Canada to spend billions to attract major automakers seeking sites to manufacture electric vehicles and battery components.
Trudeau had a rocky relationship with Trump, who once called him “dishonest and weak”, and he was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden on his 2020 election victory.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
