French President Emmanuel Macron poked fun at President Trump’s climate change denial while giving a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Obviously and fortunately, you didn’t invite anybody skeptical with global warming this year,” Macron joked Wednesday at the annual gathering of global elites.
Macron has frequently criticized Trump’s denial that climate change exists, especially after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord over the summer.
Macron said that was a mistake and announced in December that he would give grants to American climate scientists to conduct research in France during the remainder of Trump’s presidency. The “Make Our Planet Great Again” grants, totaling around $70 million, will go toward 50 climate research projects.{mosads}
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in September that Trump would be open to rejoining the climate agreement with 200 other nations if the conditions were right, but every other nation on Earth has already signed on.
Trump and Macron both say they have a warm relationship with each other despite their differences on issues such as climate and Israel. Trump was the guest of honor at Bastille Day celebrations in Paris in July, and Macron will attend the first White House state dinner of Trump’s presidency in April.
Trump has, in the past, denied that global warming exists, claiming it was “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive.”
During a cold snap in December, he tweeted that “Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming.”