Trump to World: Green Energy Is a Scam
and Climate Science Is From ‘Stupid People’
That was quite a headline for the New York Times account of President Trump berating everyone at the UN General Assembly this week… everyone who fell for “the greatest con job ever perpetrated”, the carbon footprint “hoax” and the “green energy scam”. Happily, that was virtually everyone in the room. But enough said. No one said the energy transition would be easy.
It makes for uncomfortable reading but the Production Gap Report 2025 finds that 10 years after the Paris Agreement, governments plan to produce more than double the volume of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, steering the world further from the Paris goals than the last assessment in 2023. This is the fifth edition of the Production Gap Report, which was first issued in 2019. It tracks the misalignment between governments’ planned fossil fuel production and global production levels consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. The report is prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute, Climate Analytics and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). You can download the report here.
Also at the UN General Assembly this week, for the first time, China’s President Xi Jinping set a reduction target, announcing that China would cut GHG emissions by up to 10% over the next decade. Many were underwhelmed by this “conservative target.” However, it is difficult to be too critical because at the same time, China is leading in clean technology development. The Financial Times reported: “China’s new climate target is both underwhelming and transformative,” said Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns at 350.org, adding that the target “anchors” China to a path “where cleantech defines economic leadership.” The FT quotes Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society: “The headline target disappoints environmentalists and falls short of the climate leadership the world urgently needs.” The FT continues: “At the same time, he [Li Shuo] noted that the country had emerged as a cleantech superpower and this dominant role could enable it to surpass its targets. “Over time, this could push China towards a more proactive role on the international stage,” he said. Well, the US won’t be the cleantech superpower we sorely need. Will the EU now raise its game?
To ensure that the zero carbon energy transition gains momentum we need a new generation of experts to continue the good work. EiD encourages all young researchers (born after 1990) in energy efficiency and biomass to submit contributions for next year’s Young Energy Researchers Conference next February 24th as part of World Sustainable Energy Days, February 24-27, 2026 in Wels, Austria. Altogether there are five dedicated conferences and a tradeshow packed into the four days. The theme of this year’s energy efficiency conference is “Energy transition = Energy independence.” The young energy researchers conference has 2 tracks, one for energy efficiency and one for biomass. Submissions (in English only) are welcome from all scientific fields (e.g. technology, engineering, economics, social sciences, architecture, law, arts). The deadline for submissions is October 10th.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- Country Living Magazine provides 3 European train routes set to transform travel in 2025.
- Check out the Good Night Train website for the unique way to travel through Europe while you sleep.
- World Walks provides us with walking holidays in Europe.
- For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine in Europe and Australia, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
- Cycling for Softies provides us with the 15 Best Cycling Holidays in Europe 2025.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), Prince de Marcillac, an accomplished French moralist of the era of French Classical literature, once more provides us with a little gem this week: ”As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- EU reduced to ‘middle power’ in global climate leadership
- Greenhushing: when organisations downplay their sustainability efforts could be just as dangerous as greenwashing
- China is rapidly expanding its global footprint in clean-tech manufacturing
- Uncertainty in future electricity demand in Germany
- Canada’s auditor general wants to know whether the federal government is doing a good job protecting its assets from the increasingly severe impacts of climate change
- In praise of Paris’ climate and energy transition
- No it’s not – Australia’s climate and energy minister described energy efficiency as ‘embroidery’ for renewables and electrification
- Uruguay’s energy transition: a model for other countries?
- Our energy transition: a recent breakthrough in fuel cell design
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 