- US President Trump criticised the global shift to renewable energy at WEF in Davos
- He claimed windmill dependence raises power costs and benefits China economically
- Trump noted China manufactures windmills but does not use wind farms domestically
US President Donald Trump ridiculed the world's shift towards renewable energy during his World Economic Forum (WEF) speech, noting that the pivot is raising power costs and making China—the West's main economic adversary—profitable.
China is a mass manufacturer of windmills, and "stupid people" are buying them, Trump said in his speech in Davos on Wednesday. The remarks were a pointed jibe at European nations, which have placed their bets behind the shift towards wind energy to curb global warming.
"There are windmills all over Europe. There are windmills all over the place, and they are losers. One thing I've noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses, and the worst that country is doing," Trump said.
"China makes all of the windmills and yet I haven't found any wind farms in China... Did you ever think of that? It's a good way of looking at this one. China is very smart. They make them. They sell them for a fortune," Trump said. "They sell them to the stupid people that buy them," the US president added.
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Trump, in his speech at the WEF, derided the shift towards renewables as "new green scam", that is costing Europe immensely. The use of wind energy over conventional sources has led to a "64% rise" in electricity rates in Germany, and has led to a two-third decline in the generation of power in the UK, as compared to what it stood in 1999, he added.
The climate agenda has led to the UK not using 500 years' worth of reserves in the North Sea, which in-turn has led to power shortage and higher prices in the country, according to Trump. "The United Kingdom produces just one third of the total energy from all sources that it did in 1999," he said.
Watch: Trump Ridicules European Nations Over Windmills' Purchase
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