President Trump made the case Monday that he has protected the nation’s air and water in a speech filled with cherry-picked statistics and misleading claims. And he failed to mention that his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord was undercutting efforts to address a fundamental threat to the planet.

Mr. Trump listed what he cast as accomplishments in addressing air pollution, carbon emissions, hazardous sites and lead exposure — taking credit for trends that preceded his administration or actions mandated by courts. Left unaddressed were his effort to weaken environmental standards by rolling back regulations and his record of putting former industry executives and lobbyists in key policymaking positions.

Here’s a fact check of his remarks.

What Mr. Trump Said

“One of the main messages of air pollution, particulate matter is six times lower here than the global average.”

This is misleading.

It’s true that America’s air is much cleaner than it was five decades ago. But Mr. Trump is including years of progress that took place under his predecessors.

Of the six “criteria” air pollutants tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency, four actually increased in 2017, Mr. Trump’s first year in office: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and two measures of particulate matter pollution. (It should be noted that data for 2018 is not yet publicly available, while single-year increases for the six metrics have occurred under previous administrations as well.)