U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday that the United States knows best how to protect the environment and doesn’t need advice from around the globe.
“The rest of the world would like to tell us how to manage our own environment,” Haley said in an interview with CBS. “And I think that anybody in America can tell you that we’re best to decide what America should do.
“We don’t need India, and France, and China telling us what they think we should do,” Haley said, repeating what President Donald Trump said in announcing the U.S. would withdraw from the agreement — “American sovereignty matters.”
Haley said the president’s decision is also in keeping with his campaign promise to put America first.
“We’ve always been a leader when it comes to the environment,” Haley said. “And we’ve always been very conscious of that.”
“And what you’re seeing the U.S. do is making sure we’re taking care of the U.S. first,” Haley said.
The U.S. will continue to be a “good international citizen,” including its commitment to protecting the environment. “It’s what we’ve always done,” Haley said. “We’ve always been conscious of the environment.”
“We’re not going to stop doing that,” she added.
Haley also criticized the Paris Agreement on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“What President [Barack] Obama submitted to the U.S. was not achievable under our standards or any other country’s standards,” Haley said, adding that the environment is important, but so is protecting U.S. businesses and American jobs.
“We’re going to make sure we’re not hurting our companies in the process,” Haley said. “There’s a balance.”
On Thursday Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the agreement, which was agreed to by Obama without Congressional approval. Trump said the agreement would hurt the U.S. economy and, thus, Americans.
“No responsible leader can put the workers — and the people — of their country at this debilitating and tremendous disadvantage,” said Trump, adding that the Paris Accord “hamstrings the United States, while empowering some of the world’s top polluting countries,” including India and China.
“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump said.
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