U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed his name Thursday to a document that affirms the need for international action against climate change, adding further uncertainty to the direction of climate policy under the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly questioned climate science, calling climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese and vowing during his campaign to “cancel” the Paris agreement. Nor does it explicitly state that human activity is causing climate change. While Tillerson’s comments were vague — the phrase “the issue of climate change” falls short of saying climate change is real — few of his counterparts at the meeting minced words. The Fairbanks Declaration includes several other references to climate change and taking action to mitigate it or adapt to it.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 12, 2017 01:18 UTC