But he indicated that was hardly a priority.
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Christiana Figueres called Donald Trump’s fanfare over withdrawing the USA from the agreement “a vacuous political melodrama”. “If we can’t, that’s fine”, he said.
This all illustrates the key point – as far as the climate is concerned, what matters is not what Trump says or does, but how the rest of America and the rest of the world responds, both politically and practically.
Climate Interactive found that by not following through on its Paris climate commitment, the United States would spew an additional 1.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year through 2025, as compared with the us following through on its commitment.
Trump’s announcement fulfils one of his campaign promises and plays well to his core Republican supporters. Of course, by 2021, there may or may not be a different occupant in the White House.
WHITE HOUSE: “According to a study by NERA Consulting, meeting the Obama administration’s requirements in the Paris Accord would cost the US economy almost $3 trillion over the next several decades”.
Trump himself used to believe in what the Paris accord is doing, so Thursday’s announcement can’t be justified as a reflection of his deeply held convictions. Several of his top aides also opposed the action, including his daughter, Ivanka Trump.
The president added that “as of today”, the United States would stop implementing its Paris pledges, including contributions to the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change. But the national targets are voluntary, leaving room for the USA and the almost 200 other countries in the agreement to alter their commitments. In an exceptional step, continental Europe’s three biggest economies – Germany, France and Italy – issued a joint statement in which they criticised Trump’s decision and said the pact was “not renegotiable, reported Agence France-Presse”.
Exiting the deal is also the last straw for some players in the business world who had joined Trump’s advisory council in the hopes of keeping him from making bad decisions like this one.
The World Meteorological Organization said the United States withdrawal from the emissions-cutting accord could add 0.3 degrees Celsius to global temperatures by the end of the century in “a worst-case scenario”.
“Trump defies the planet”, said Le Figaro, while Le Monde took its banner headline from Macron’s speech: “Trump turns his back on the planet”. “And we need to think what to do further”, he said. The idea of a pollution levy is simultaneously progressive-it targets polluting industries and redistributes their wealth downward-but it can also work within the structures of a “free market” economy, by regulating social costs to encourage energy transition across the supply chain, starting with electricity plants and down to the gas pump.
Even potential USA partners reached out across the Pacific.
Trump’s moves have alienated allies who game out how to one-up the president.
“China has expressed very clear signals that it wants to take more leadership in terms of promoting trade and global cooperation against climate change”, said Frank Yu, a China-based renewables consultant for the firm Wood Mackenzie. That’s upsetting to climate scientists, but it’s happening whether or not the USA stays in the accord.
In reacting to Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing the USA from the Paris climate accord, China reaffirmed its commitment to the landmark agreement and is poised to spend heavily in coming years on renewables. Late on Wednesday, the President tweeted that he would announce his decision in the White House Rose garden at 3 pm Thursday.
“Mayors, governors and business leaders from both political parties are signing onto a statement of support that we will submit to the United Nations – and together, we will reach the emission reduction goals the USA made in Paris in 2015”, said Bloomberg.
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“Apparently the White House has no idea how an worldwide treaty works”, Ms Figueres said.
