President Donald Trump made good on his campaign vow of withdrawing the United States from a historic global pact to fight climate change. He announced his decision while addressing the press in the Rose Garden on Thursday, a move that promises to deepen the existing rift with U.S. allies.
Trump stated that the decision on withdrawing from the 195-nation accord – agreed to in Paris in 2015 – was finalized, but adding that the U.S would start negotiations for re-entry to get a “fairer deal”
Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, termed the restrictions on industries to cut back on carbon emissions which were part of the international deal as being “draconian”.
Watch complete address below:
The accord aims to limit planetary warming in part by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
The Paris Accord is a historic agreement between almost all nations which seeks to ramp up efforts of combating climate change. The agreement requires wealthier nations to provide financial aid to poorer ones in order for them to enact environmentally friendly measures. It also aims to contain the rise in global temperature to below 1.5 Celsius, cut back on carbon emissions, conduct stocktake efforts every five years, and has laid out long-term goals of achieving zero global emissions.
Read More: U.S withdrawing from the Paris Accord could deepen rift with allies
South Asian countries like Pakistan are profoundly vulnerable to climate change. This is due to the fact that South Asian countries are low to middle-income economies where a major part of an average individual’s income is reserved for food. Changes in temperature, erratic storms, and massive floods caused by climate would disrupt agriculture output causing food prices to rise and displace many to urban areas which are increasingly becoming overpopulated.
Under the pact, virtually every nation voluntarily committed to combat climate change with steps aimed at curbing global emissions of “greenhouse” gases such as carbon dioxide generated from the burning of fossil fuels that scientists blame for a warming planet, sea level rise, droughts and more frequent violent storms. It was the first legally binding global climate deal.
The accord aims to limit planetary warming in part by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Under the pact, the United States committed to reduce its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.
The withdrawal has put the United States in league with Syria and Nicaragua as the world’s only non-participants in the Paris agreement.
Trump has said the accord would cost the U.S. economy trillions of dollars without tangible benefit.
For the Republican president, this withdrawal marks his boldest assertion yet of the “America First” approach to policy, unencumbered by international obligations.
The United States is the world’s second-biggest carbon dioxide emitter behind China. A shift away from coal to cleaner-burning and cheaper natural gas in recent years has cut U.S. carbon emissions to near 30-year lows, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trump had vowed during his 2016 presidential campaign to “cancel” the Paris deal within 100 days of becoming president as part of an effort to bolster U.S. oil and coal industries.
The U.S. decision to withdraw from the accord has further alienated American allies in Europe already wary of Trump and call into question U.S. leadership and trustworthiness on one of the world’s leading issues.
Within minutes of the president’s announcement, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement in which they asserted that the Paris climate accord was “irreversible” and could not be renegotiated.
Trump had vowed during his 2016 presidential campaign to “cancel” the Paris deal within 100 days of becoming president as part of an effort to bolster U.S. oil and coal industries. That promise helped rally supporters sharing his skepticism of global efforts to police U.S. carbon emissions
This pullout is also one more step by the Republican president to erase the legacy of his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, who helped broker the accord and praised it during a trip to Europe this month.
The United States is the world’s second-biggest carbon dioxide emitter behind China. A shift away from coal to cleaner-burning and cheaper natural gas in recent years has cut U.S. carbon emissions to near 30-year lows, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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Trump has already moved to dismantle Obama-era climate change regulations, including the U.S. Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing emissions from main coal-fired power plants.
The CEOs of Dow Chemical Co, ExxonMobil Corp, Unilever NV and Tesla Inc. had all previously urged Trump to remain in the agreement, with Tesla’s Elon Musk threatening to quit White House advisory councils of which he is a member if the president pulls out.
Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.After Trump’s announcement, Mr. Musk, who had agreed to be a member of two business-related councils that Mr. Trump set up this year, wrote on Twitter that he would leave those panels.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017
The decision was a victory for Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Reportedly, both spent months quietly making their case to the president about the dangers of the agreement. Inside the West Wing, the pair overcame intense opposition from other top aides, including Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, and his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.
Ivanka, in particular, fought to make sure that her father heard from people supportive of the agreement, setting up calls and meetings with world leaders, corporate executives, and others. But by Thursday, aides who pushed to remain part of the agreement were disconsolate, and it was Mr. Pruitt whom the president brought up for victory remarks at the Rose Garden event.
Trump has repeatedly expressed doubts about climate change, at times calling it a hoax to weaken U.S. industry.
Supporters of the climate pact are concerned that a U.S. exit could lead other nations to weaken their commitments or also withdraw, softening an accord that scientists have said is critical to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
After taking office, Trump faced pressure to stay in the deal from investors, international powers and business leaders, including some in the coal industry. He also had to navigate a split among his advisers.
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Trump has already moved to dismantle Obama-era climate change regulations, including the U.S. Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing emissions from main coal-fired power plants.
GVS News Analysis with contributions from Reuters |