“As the U.S. backs away from climate pledges, India and China step up,” CBS News declared in 2017 following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the dubious Paris Accord. Bloomberg took it a step further, pointedly claiming, “China, Germany Step Up as U.S. Retires from World Leadership.” Well, it’s one thing to sign a pledge; it’s another thing entirely to follow through on it.

Recently, scientists discovered the source of a globally banned ozone-depleting gas that has been emanating into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. The chemical Trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, has been banned across the globe for the past 30 years. However, since 2013 scientists have noticed increasing levels of CFC-11 in the atmosphere, and now the leading culprit has been discovered — China.

A study published last month by scientists from the universities of Bristol, Kyungpook National, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology determined that 40% to 60% of the total global CFC-11 emissions came from eastern China. Talk about stepping up to lead the world … in polluting the planet.

The Washington Examiner notes, “Recent news suggests that if the U.S. were to regulate emissions more strictly, it wouldn’t be following China, but would be sending lots of manufacturing toward China, which would hurt both the planet and American interests around the world.” The Leftmedia won’t tell you that, though. Reporters would rather moralize and lecture against everything Trump does.