German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hypocritical for criticizing the United States’ climate policies while her country ignores carbon emission-free nuclear energy, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Scott Pruitt said Wednesday.
Hydraulic fracking and other natural gas technologies have allowed the U.S. to dramatically reduce its carbon footprint, Pruitt told The Washington Examiner. Meanwhile, Merkel continues to oppose the kind of energy production that lowers carbon emissions, according to Pruitt.
“You know, our [carbon dioxide] footprint dropped by over 18 percent from 2000 to 2014. How? Because of government mandate? No, because of innovation called hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling,” Pruitt said.
The EPA chief was addressing some of the things the Trump administration will discuss at climate talks later this month with the UN General Assembly, and Pruitt also blasted countries like Germany that trash President Donald Trump’s climate policies.
“If Chancellor Merkel … really cares about reducing CO2 in this world, why is she going away from nuclear?” Pruitt asked. “It’s so hypocritical for countries to look at the United States and say, ‘You need to do more.’ Really?”
Germany jettisoned its nuclear power in 2011 after a tsunami wiped out nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan. The country, which gets 40 percent of its electricity from imported coal, has traditionally been very opposed to such forms of renewable energy.
German officials were forced to recommission coal power plants earlier this year to keep the country from being exposed to sustained blackouts. Germany’s ambitious energy policies call for the shutdown of 30 such power plants by 2019.
The country’s so-called Energiewende plan to boost wind and solar production to fight global warming hasn’t significantly reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As a result, Germany is planning to cap the total amount of wind energy at 40 to 45 percent of national capacity, according to a report published by the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
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