British physicist Stephen Hawking said U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement could lead to "irreversible" climate change and turn the Earth into a hothouse planet like Venus.
Hawking, famous for his theories on black holes and the origin of the Universe, made the remarks in a recent interview with BBC in honor of his 75th birthday.
Trump said in early June that he has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact signed by 195 parties to fight climate change. The U.S. move has aroused worldwide criticism.
"We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible. Trump's action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining sulphuric acid," Hawking told BBC News.
"Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it's one we can prevent if we act now. By denying the evidence for climate change, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Donald Trump will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children," he said.
Hawking has had motor neurone disease for most of his adult life and it has impaired his movement and ability to speak. He said he dreams of a cure for his disease or at least a treatment that halted its progression.
