So, the apple does not fall far from the tree after all. US President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. blasts climate activist Greta Thunberg for pretending to know economics. In the process, he trolls the Modi government and calls India and China the worst climate offenders.
Rather than try to pretend she knows something about economics she could further her cause much more by going to places like China and India and make the do something about their pollution.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 23, 2020
Why wont she go directly to the worst offenders? https://t.co/RHmkjEWD37
In the tweet, Trump Jr. says why Thunberg doesn't visit India and China to talk about climate change. The comment comes ahead of his father, President Trump's visit to India next month.
Just last month, President Trump asked the 17-year-old activist who started the Fridays for Future movement to chill and go to the movies after she was named the person of the year by Time magazine. Thunberg in reply to the president's tweet changed her Twitter status to 'chilling'.
Trump Jr. too, said naming Thunberg person of the year was a marketing gimmick by Time magazine.
Here are some replies Trump Jr. got for his tweet. “America is on its way to being one of the worst offenders, due to your daddy, Fredo,” wrote one user.
Another user seemed to be supporting him and wrote, “Greta doesn’t care about the environment. If she did she would be touring China & India, the biggest polluters, with her lectures. It’s not about climate, it’s economic warfare against the west. The left wants to destroy western civilization, it’s freedoms & it’s wealth.”
Another user commented, “She knows a HELL of a lot more than you AND your family. Don't ever underestimate the power of knowledge. It doesn't matter how young she is or any disabilities she has. She's far more advanced than you ever will be...and your dad....and I think that bothers you.”
“There's clearly a concerted effort by Donald Trump, his family and his supporters to go after Great Thunberg. I guarantee you that this teen is more respected around the world than Trump is. Hey, Junior, #BeBest — you remain a horrible person who shouldn't be a father,” another user wrote.
United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin at the World Economic Forum said, "It's a joke. After she goes and studies economics in college she can come back and explain that to us," on being asked by a journalist "Greta Thunberg has called for a public and private sector divestment from fossil fuel companies. Does that pose a threat to US economic growth?"
Thunberg in her usual calm manner replied on Twitter, “My gap year ends in August, but it doesn't take a college degree in economics to realise that our remaining 1,5° carbon budget and ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and investments don't add up."
India not a bad climate offender
India, incidentally, is not a bad climate offender, with it ranking among top ten nations of high climate performers in a Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) report in 2019. India ranks ninth on the list.
"Dear Mr Modi, you need to take action now against the climate crisis, not just talking about it because if you keep going on like this, doing business as usual, and just talking about and bragging about the little victories, you are going to fail. And if you fail, you are going to be seen as one of the worst villains in human history in the future. And you don't want that," Greta Thunberg said at the COP25 meet in December, which was held in Madrid.
The Indian government has yet to develop a roadmap for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies that would consequently reduce the country's high dependence on coal. But as of now, the country is investing more in renewable energy than in fossil fuels and is emerging as a global leader in renewable energy.
China and US rank low on the list at 30 and 61 respectively on the CCPI report.
