The Trump administration predicted in a draft environmental impact statement last month that the planet will warm seven degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, a development that scientists say could be catastrophic.
Among the consequences of such a rise, coral reefs would dissolve, oceans would become more acidic, extreme heat waves would plague the globe, and coastal cities would be at risk of being under water, according to The Washington Post, which was the first to report on the prediction.
The prediction was contained well into a 500-page draft environmental impact statement.
{mosads} The draft statement was written to defend President Trump’s decision to freeze federal fuel efficiency standards for light trucks and cars built after 2020.
It largely declared that the planet’s ultimate fate was already determined and that little could be done about it.
“The amazing thing they’re saying is human activities are going to lead to this rise of carbon dioxide that is disastrous for the environment and society. And then they’re saying they’re not going to do anything about it,” Michael MacCracken, who served as a senior scientist at the U.S. Global Change Research Program from 1993 to 2002, told The Washington Post.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.
The statement analyzes that carbon emissions would have to be steeply cut in order to prevent the warming, adding that such an action “would require substantial increases in technology innovation and adoption compared to today’s levels and would require the economy and the vehicle fleet to move away from the use of fossil fuels, which is not currently technologically feasible or economically feasible.”
Trump has taken a hard stance against former President Obama’s policies regarding climate change, removing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement and removing regulations impacting the coal industry.