‘Ineffective’

US President Donald Trump on Monday once again denounced the "unfair, ineffective, and very, very expensive" Paris climate accord.

He boasted about his administration's environmental record, saying America can lead the world in fighting pollution at the same time it is promoting fossil fuels, in a speech green groups derided as "utter fantasy."

Trump announced in June 2017 that the United States was pulling out of the Paris agreement, concluded in 2015 with almost every nation on the planet. The pact aims to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

"We want the cleanest air. We want crystal clean water. And that's what we're doing," Trump said during his speech at the White House.

His administration has eased environmental regulations, and last year Trump said he didn't believe his own government report warning of massive economic losses if carbon emissions continue to feed climate change unchecked, reported AFP.

"We will defend the environment but we will also defend American sovereignty, American prosperity, and we will defend American jobs," he said in his Monday speech.

Reacting on Twitter, former vice president Al Gore said Trump "is refusing to see reality."

Ken Cook, a spokesman for the Environmental Working Group, called Trump's speech "utter fantasy", reported Reuters.

"There has never been a president who has actively pursued an agenda so hostile to the environment and public health at the behest of polluters than Mr. Trump," he said.

Paris yesterday declared a climate emergency following similar moves by other cities and national parliaments.