The Oklahoma attorney general has launched several lawsuits against the agency he may lead. Democrats and environmental protection groups have equated the nomination to "putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Taggart
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US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a leading critic of President Barack Obama's policies to combat climate change, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), transition team officials told US media on Wednesday.
The Republican law enforcement official has vehemently battled the very agency is nominated to head, launching multiple lawsuits against the EPA under President Barack Obama's tenure.
Pruitt has described the debate on climate change as "far from settled." He views Obama's Clean Power Plan, a program that requires states to limit carbon emissions produced by power plants.
In an interview with Reuters news agency, Pruitt said the program is a form of federal "coercion and commanderring" of energy policy, adding that Oklahoma should have "sovereignty to make decisions for its own markets."
'Climate change denier'
Environmental protection organizations and Democratic lawmakers have lashed out at the nomination, saying it effectively undermines the EPA's mandate on environmental protection.
The American environmental organization Sierra Club said the nomination equates to "putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires."
US Senator Bernie Sanders said he would "vigorously oppose" Pruitt's appointment, which requires congressional approval.
"Mr. Pruitt's record is not only that of being a climate change denier, but also someone who has worked closely with the fossil fuel industry to make this country more dependent, not less, on fossil fuels," Sanders said in a statement.
Environmental reactions to Trump victory
Trump has made no secret of the fact that he does not believe in climate change, and that global warming is a hoax. Read what environmentalists and climate fighters are saying about his election victory.
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Gray zone
"Trump must choose whether he will be a President remembered for putting America and the world on a path to climate disaster, or for listening to the American public and keeping us on a path to climate progress. Trump better choose wisely, otherwise - we can guarantee him the hardest fight of his life every step of the way.” - Michael Brune, Executive Director, The Sierra Club
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Dry reality
"Today is a bad day for international climate policy. That a climate change denier can be elected as the most powerful man in the world will make efforts to reduce emissions and secure adequate funding for adaptation measures all the more difficult... The international community needs reliable partners for ambitious climate policies." - Sabine Minninger, climate advisor for Brot für die Welt
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Out of control
"The Paris Agreement was signed and ratified not by a President, but by the United States itself. As a matter of international law, and as a matter of human survival, the nations of the world can, must, and will hold the United States to its climate commitments." - Jean Su from California-based Center for Biological Diversity
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Green solutions
"We know that yesterday's elections are undoubtedly going to affect the tone of the negotiations, but we know the task we have in front of us remains the same: that we must continue to keep our aim and our focus on the long-term that the countries set for themselves in the Paris Agreement." - Mariana Panuncio-Feldman, World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Senior Director of International Climate Cooperation
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Slow death
"For communities in the global south, the U.S. citizens' choice to elect Donald Trump seems like a death sentence. We are suffering the effects of climate change after years of inaction by rich countries... and with an unhinged climate change denier in the White House, the relatively small progress made is under threat." - Wilfred D'Costa, Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development
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Opening the floodgates
"President-elect Donald Trump's stance on global warming is well known. Ironically, he contributed to the popularity of our recent 'Turn down the heat'-report series for the World Bank by attacking it on Twitter. Yet apart from this, science cannot expect any positive climate action from him." - Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Image: Reuters/D. Reuter
Washed up?
"It's clear that Donald Trump is about to be one of the most powerful people in the world, but even he does not have the power to change the laws of physics... Climate change has become a geopolitical issue of the top order and no country can be perceived as not doing its fair share on climate without serious consequences for its standing in the world." - Alden Meyer, Union of Concerned Scientists
Image: Reuters/T. Kalifa
A burning issue
"As a young woman and first-time voter I will not tolerate Trump's denialism of the action needed for climate justice. Our country must undergo a systemic change and just transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy within my lifetime. The next four years are critical for getting on the right pathway." - Becky Chung, the youth network SustainUS.
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Time to be clean
"The fact of climate change is not changed by what happened last night. At this very historic moment, it is important to remind ourselves that we were in the wilderness before and progress was possible. Leaders across the world will expect the US to honor its commitment and they won't wait in the race to the renewable energy future." - Li Shuo, Greenpeace China
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Shrinking opportunities
“Donald Trump is the newly elected President of the United States. As of today, the Paris Agreement is an even stronger signal against denying reality and for global cooperation to solve the pressing problems of the world... You cannot ignore the facts." - Christoph Bals, Policy Director of Germanwatch
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Powerful force
“Trump will try and slam the brakes on climate action, which means we need to throw all of our weight on the accelerator... We need the rest of the world to charge ahead and look beyond the White House to partner with civil society, businesses, and local governments who are still committed to climate action... Our work becomes much harder now, but it’s not impossible.” - 350.org
Image: AP
Growing concern
"Africa is already burning. The election of Trump is a disaster for our continent. The United States, if it follows through on its new President's rash words about withdrawing from the international climate regime, will become a pariah state in global efforts for climate action." - Geoffrey Kamese from Friends of the Earth Africa
