"Trump Boosts Coal As China Takes The Lead On Climate Change"

"WASHINGTON — For years, cutting carbon emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change was routinely near the top of the agenda at talks between the leaders of the United States and China.

Not anymore.

As President Donald Trump hosts President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week, the world's two largest economies and carbon polluters are taking dramatically divergent paths on climate policy.

The Chinese government recently canceled construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants and plans to invest at least $360 billion in green energy projects by 2020. It is a building boom expected to create an estimated 13 million jobs. China already leads the world in total installed solar and wind capacity.

Trump, who has said global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to hurt the U.S. economy, signed an executive order last week that aims to roll back Obama-era policies regulating carbon emissions. He has pledged to reverse decades of decline in coal mining, which now accounts for fewer than 75,000 U.S. jobs."

Michael Biesecker and Louise Watt report for the Associated Press April 6, 2017.

SEE ALSO:

"China Moves a Step Forward in Its Quest for Food Security" (New York Times)

"Donald Trump 'Won't Discuss Climate Change' At Meeting With Xi Jinping Despite Us And China Being Worst Polluters" (Independent)

"As Trump Reverses Obama’s Climate Plans, China’s Leadership Moment Arrives" (Washington Post)