The speeches from world leaders will be broadcast on United Nations television (linked here) and translations will be available in a range of languages. News outlets including The Washington Post and USA Today also posted live streams on YouTube. Speeches will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Trump’s appearance at the last general assembly was a somewhat tumultuous experience. After the president said that “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” members of the audience laughed.
“America’s—so true. Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” he continued.
More than four million people around are estimated to have marched on Friday to demand action for climate change. Sixteen year old climate activist Greta Thunberg harshly rebuked the speed of global action on climate change on Monday, saying “people are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth.” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning on Monday, saying “our warming earth is issuing a chilling cry: Stop. If we don’t urgently change our ways of life, we jeopardize life itself.” And global leaders spoke of efforts their countries had taken to reduce emissions.
Trump, however, tweeted about his approval rating, his remarks on religious freedom and the unfolding whistleblower scandal that has raised questions of impeachment. He also appeared to mock Thunberg in a tweet posted at night.
The disconnect between Trump’s focus and that of the world highlights the way in which the Trump administration has separated itself from global consensus on climate change, even as concern in climate change in the United States is rising. making deregulation a priority for his administration. As of earlier this month, he had completed 53 rollbacks and was in the process of rolling back 32 other measures, according to an analysis from The New York Times.
