We can’t sneer at Trump on climate change

It's hard to point the finger at Trump when we're nowhere near meeting our targets for emissions reduction

The election of Donald Trump as US president triggered a flurry of visible alarm in Ireland. It also produced a good deal of ivory-tower sneering. On top of all Trump’s sexism, xenophobia, lack of intellectual rigour, rhetorical absurdity and dissembling, he seemed happy to align himself with a number of prominent climate change deniers.

He described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by China and, when he took power, he immediately slashed funding ...