Acting against the desires of a majority of Americans, President Trump today announced that the United States will walk away from the Paris Climate Accord. He justified his decision, made to fulfill a campaign promise to his base supporters as good for the economy and the creation of jobs. In reality this action will have far reaching, and serious impacts, but economic and job growth are not among them.
President Trump’s decision should not have been a surprise since he started dismantling emission regulations in March. However, rather than just announcing his decision, he essentially turned the occasion into a celebratory campaign style rally portraying his action as saving America from a bunch of devious, scheming foreigners who had taken advantage of the U.S. As a Marine Corps band played light jazz in the background Trump made a number of dubious claims about the cost of the Paris Accord to the U.S. (“trillions of dollars”) and lost jobs, he seem totally unaware of the the fact the the Accord is strictly voluntary, with absolutely no binding obligations on the U.S., The total cost to the U.S. could have been reduced to zero, without resorting to withdrawal.
President Trumps belligerent outburst was an insult to our friends an allies around the world, and should have been an embarrassment to all Americans. During his speech the President asked “”At what point does America get demeaned?”. The answer to that question is on a sunny June 1st, 2017, in the White House Rose Garden. It was also the time that the U.S. voluntarily withdrew from a leadership role in the most significant global accord of our time.
It can be argued that for the sake of the planet, U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord might very well be a positive. The Trump administration is steadily rolling back environmental regulations and programs so a meaningful Federal government contribution was probably a mute question. However, by staying in the agreement, the Administration would have retained a “place at the table” where it could have done a fair amount of damage.
It would be a mistake to assume that the actions of the Trump administration will terminate efforts within the U.S. to curtail greenhouse emissions. To the contrary, the withdrawal from the Paris Accord may well stimulate ongoing efforts at the state, local and business levels. There are at least 5 multi-state CO2 cap and trade exchanges in which over 30 states, and several Canadian provinces participate; as well as a transportation, clean energy and climate initiative in which Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states participate. A number of cities have a wide ranging climate initiatives, with such major cites as New York and Boston, both of which suffered from Hurricane Sandy perhaps being the most aggressive. Actions by business have been gaining momentum as individual business are starting to include possible climate change impacts in their long range planning. Additionally large shareholders, such as pension funds and investment banks, are businesses to incorporate climate change in their business operations. One recent example occurred at last weeks Exxon Mobile shareholders meeting at which the shareholders voted to require Exxon Mobile report potential impacts climate change on the company and its assets. It would not be surprising for a number of states, primarily those with Democratic governors, cities and business to increase their climate change programs in response to President Trump’s withdrawal. Thus the near-term impact of U,S, withdrawal upon progress toward the Paris Accord goal may not be that great. The longer term impact will be decided by future U.S. elections.
It is too late to stop the movement to clean energy, The regulations that Trump detests, and has largely overturned, have gained a momentum that will carry into the future. Wind and solar energy are increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. By in large, Consumers have become sensitized to the value of energy efficiency, and many will seek out energy efficient appliances, in spite of Trump’s termination of the Energy Star program. Solar energy alone, now employs more workers than the entire coal industry. There can be no question that the future belongs to clean energy, and that while considerable progress is has been made, there is great potential for future innovation. The opportunities for economic, and job, growth in clean energy are far greater than in the expansion of fossil fuels. The anticipation of emission regulations has stimulated much of our progress to date. While President Trump’s removal of those will not stop that progress, the removal of the regulatory stimulus, the elimination of Federal energy and environmental science research and innovation, and the dismantling of the nation’s educational system can have only a negative impact on the nation’s economy and job growth, contrary to President Trump’s justification for today’s announcement.
The major impact of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord will be on the status of the U.S. in the global community. Combined with last weeks disastrous European visit by President Trump, the result of today’s action probably may well mark the beginning of the end of U.S. leadership in the free world. And, when you include the transfer of confidential information, that did not belong to the U.S., by President Trump to Russian authorities it would be reasonable to assume that there will be major distrust issues when the U.S. seeks international trade,or other, agreements, and cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, immigration and other concerns.
President Trump defended his decision as a “reassertion of America’s sovereignty”, while it may prove to be an assertion of American isolationism.
