Stephen Hawking: Trump pulling out of Paris Agreement ‘could push Earth over the brink’

Stephen Hawking blasted President Trump’s recent decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement in a new interview, saying it “could push Earth over the brink.”

Hawking told BBC News that Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the agreement would lead to disastrous consequences worldwide.

“We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible,” Hawking told BBC News. “Trump’s action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees, and raining sulphuric acid.”

{mosads}Hawking said that climate change is among the greatest dangers facing Earth. The world-renowned physicist also said that quick action could prevent some of the worst effects of climate change, but Trump withdrawing from the agreement would cause “avoidable damage to our beautiful planet.”

“By denying the evidence for climate change, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Donald Trump will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children,” Hawking said.

Trump announced he would be withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate change agreement at the beginning of June, calling it “unfair.”

“The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” Trump said at the time.

Trump’s decision was met with widespread criticism. After his announcement, a dozen states and hundreds of cities announced they would uphold the tenants of the climate deal.