At the current rate the planet is being polluted, global temperatures could rise 7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, according to an environmental impact statement published last month, the Washington Post reports.
The document was written by the Trump administration and says that extreme warming would be disastrous for ocean ecosystems and coastal communities. Cities like New York and Miami would be partially underwater, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, heat waves would sweep the rest of the globe.
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Although the report admits that climate change is human-caused, its authors had another goal in mind. Operating under the assumption that the planet's warming is inevitable was an effort to justify freezing federal fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks built after 2020, according to the Post.
"The amazing thing they're saying is human activities are going to lead to this rise of carbon dioxide that is disastrous for the environment and society. And then they're saying they're not going to do anything about it," Michael MacCracken, former senior scientist at the U.S. Global Change Research Program told the Washington Post.
While the report states that the world would have to drastically reduce emissions to avoid seven degree warming by 2100, it simultaneously proposes policies that would increase fossil fuels production.
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Since 2016, the Trump administration has publicly denied climate change, pulling the US from the Paris climate agreement, rolling back regulations on the coal industry, and erasing the issue from government websites.
Proposals under the Trump administration would relax limits on coal plants and enable oil and gas operations to release more methane. And the rollback on fuel efficiency standards alone would put 8 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the government report.
Across the globe, leaders have pledged to mitigate warming over two degrees Celsius. However, current efforts are falling short, the Washington Post reports.
"If we do not change course in the next two years, we risk runaway climate change...Our future is at stake," UN Secretary-General António Guterres told leaders in New York this week, the Washington Post reports.