Trump blames India, China again for US quitting Paris climate deal

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The US President Donald Trump has once again blamed India and China as he defended his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Trump claimed that developing nations tag to India and China to help them get funds for environmental protection, but the US' developed country status means "paying" to these countries.

"They called China a developing nation. Other countries, big countries — India and others — we had to pay because they considered them a growing country. And, you know, China, their agreement didn’t kick in until 2030," Trump said during an annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Reiterating his reason to withdraw from the Paris accord, Trump maintained, "They basically wanted to take our wealth away. They didn’t want us to use our wealth power. We knocked out the Paris Climate Accord. Would have been a disaster. Would have been a disaster for our country.”

Trump had expressed his displeasure over "preferential funding" to developing nations like India and China under the climate agreement. He had also labeled global warming a "hoax" perpetrated by Beijing.

Delegates from West Virginia hold signs supporting coal on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US, July 19, 2016. /Reuters Photo‍

“India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries," he had said while announcing he is withdrawing the US of the climate agreement last year.

Expressing displeasure at CPAC on coal and fossil fuel cap by climate experts, Trump argued, "We have massive energy reserves. We have coal. We have so much. And basically, they were saying, don’t use it, you can’t use it."

Trump also highlighted the role of coal in generating jobs and power to roaring applause. “We’ve ended the war on American energy. We were in war. And we’ve ended the war on beautiful, clean coal. One of our great natural resources.”

"We don’t have to send it through pipes. We don’t have to get it from foreign countries. We have more than anybody. And they wanted to end it. And our miners have been mistreated, and they’re not being mistreated anymore. We’re doing tremendous business."

The president also recalled his visit to Vietnam and revealed how he asked the country's officials to buy coal from the US to balance the trade deficit.

“I was in Vietnam, and the Prime Minister and the President of Vietnam were there. And we have a massive deficit with them like we do with everybody else because these Presidents have just let it go to hell," Trump said.

“I said, "Buy coal. Buy coal'".