Trump administration argues that Earth will inevitably be ruined by climate change, so we might as well keep using fossil fuels

The Earth is already ruined, so why bother trying to save it?

The Trump administration released a report characterizing climate change as a lost cause, arguing that aggressive steps to curb rising global temperatures aren't necessary since they won't halt catastrophic damage anyway, The Washington Post reported Friday. An environmental impact statement for a decision to freeze fuel efficiency standards predicted that we are currently on track for a 7-degree increase in average global temperatures by the end of the century.

An increase of 7 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 4 degrees Celsius, would bring devastating and deadly consequences to most of the world. So if that's our fate, argues the report, what's the point in trying to fight it? It would be much more fun to go out with a fossil-fueled bang, since increasing greenhouse gas emissions slightly would only make a tiny difference in our inevitable heat-induced deaths, the statement suggests.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Governments would need to take drastic measures to sufficiently decrease carbon emissions, which "would require the economy and the vehicle fleet to move away from the use of fossil fuels, which is not currently technologically feasible or economically feasible," reads the report.

"The amazing thing they're saying is human activities are going to lead to this rise of carbon dioxide that is disastrous for the environment and society," scientist Michael MacCracken told the Post. "And then they're saying they're not going to do anything about it." Read more at The Washington Post.