Trump's Pick For UN Ambassador Not Fit Due To Ties To Coal Industry - US Senator

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, is not the right candidate for the job due to her financial stake in the fossil fuel industry, Senator Jeff Merkley said in a statement on Wednesday.

Craft's husband, Joseph Craft, is the CEO of coal giant Alliance Resource Partners, which has reportedly claimed that global climate change mechanisms like the Paris Agreement have had a negative impact in the industry.

"With Kelly Craft's nomination, we have been sent a nominee who will personally profit from the continued burning of fossil fuels and who infamously proclaimed that there are 'good scientists on both sides' of the climate debate," Merkley said.

"Kelly Craft is an unacceptable nominee to lead the US's engagement with the global community at this critical juncture."

Craft, during a� Senate hearing on her nomination earlier on Wednesday, said she would, if confirmed as UN ambassador, advocate for all countries to do their part to address climate change. She also admitted that climate change poses a real risk to the planet, and that human behavior has contributed to it.

During the hearing, Craft also promised to recuse herself from any UN climate change discussions where coal is part of the conversation.

Craft, if confirmed, will succeed Nikki Haley, who stepped down from her post as US ambassador to the United Nations and left office at the end of 2018.