US Prez Donald Trump calls climate change 'greatest con job ever' in UNGA speech

US President Donald Trump addresses UNGA

The United States President Donald Trump used his first United Nations General Assembly address since 2020 to attack international climate policies, describing global warming as the “greatest con job ever perpetrated in the world.”

Speaking in New York, the US president told delegates that climate change is “not a legitimate idea.” He said: “No more global warming, no more global cooling.”

Trump argued that predictions about climate change made by the UN and others “were wrong” and made by “stupid people.” He urged countries to “get away from the green scam,” warning that otherwise their nations “will fail.”

“And I’m really good at predicting things,” he added.

Scientists and experts across the world have said that climate change caused by human activities on Earth is a real phenomenon.

The remarks came as part of a wide-ranging speech in which Trump criticised the UN itself, saying the body was “not even coming close to living up to its potential” and claiming it was “empty words, and empty words don’t solve wars.” He also accused the organisation of “funding an assault on Western countries” by giving cash cards to migrants.

Immigration featured heavily in his address. Trump told leaders that “your countries are going to hell” under the “failed experiment of open borders,” and said Europe was in “serious trouble” over migration. He attacked London mayor Sadiq Khan as a “terrible mayor” and claimed Europe’s immigration and energy policies “will be the death of western Europe if something is not done immediately.”

Trump also touched on security issues, calling climate change a distraction from what he described as greater dangers. He warned that biological weapons could bring about the end of the world, announced plans for a US-led AI verification system, and said Iran “cannot be allowed” to possess nuclear weapons.

Throughout, Trump returned to his theme that the United Nations had “not even tried to help” end the conflicts he says his administration has resolved.