Thread: For President Trump, Pulling Out Of Paris Is The Only Logical Move

Trump to announce decision on global climate pact soon

Wed May 31, 2017 | 6:08pm EDT
By Valerie Volcovici and Jeff Mason

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was nearing an announcement on whether to pull out of a global pact to fight climate change and was listening to people on both sides, while a source close to the matter said Trump was preparing for a U.S. withdrawal.

A U.S. pullout could deepen a rift with U.S. allies and the United States would join Syria and Nicaragua as the world's only non-participants in the 195-nation accord agreed upon in Paris in 2015.

Responding to shouted questions from reporters in the White House Oval Office, Trump declined to say whether he had made up his mind, saying, "You'll find out very soon."

"I'm hearing from a lot of people, both ways," Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax aimed at weakening U.S. industry, said as he met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump was working out the terms of the planned withdrawal with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, an oil industry ally and climate change doubter.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined during a news briefing to say whether the Republican president might opt for an action short of complete withdrawal.

Under the pact, virtually every nation voluntarily committed to combat climate change with steps aimed at curbing global emissions of "greenhouse" gases. These include carbon dioxide generated from 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.

Under the pact, the United States committed to reduce its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.

In the past few days, the chief executives of dozens of companies have made last-minute appeals to Trump.

The CEOs of ExxonMobil Corp, Apple Inc, Dow Chemical Co, Unilever NV and Tesla Inc were among those urging 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.

Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy Corp[MUYEY.UL], an Ohio-based coal company and major Trump campaign donor, urged Trump to withdraw.

Trump has said the accord would cost the U.S. economy trillions of dollars without tangible benefit. For the Republican president, a withdrawal would reflect his "America First" approach to policy, unencumbered by international obligations.

Trump refused to endorse the landmark climate change accord at a summit of the G7 group of wealthy nations on Saturday in Italy, saying he needed more time to decide.

A U.S. decision to withdraw from the accord could further alienate 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. A pullout also would be 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.

Trump has changed his mind on large decisions before, even after signaling a move in the opposite direction.

A U.S. pullout could have sweeping implications for the deal, which relies heavily on the commitment of big polluter nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

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.

The Sierra Club said a U.S. withdrawal from the Paris deal would be a "historic mistake." Friends of the Earth said the action would "sacrifice our planet to the fossil fuel industry" and make America the world's "foremost climate villain."

Democratic U.S. lawmakers said withdrawal would undermine U.S. credibility and its position as a global leader, empowering nations like China to not only drive the climate agenda and set international standards but also reap the economic benefits of a growing clean energy sector.

At a conference near Los Angeles, Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated for the presidency last year, said withdrawing would be a mistake. “Part of what keeps us going is that America’s word is good, and that you stand with your prior administration whether it was of your party or not,” she said.

MARKETS REACT

U.S. coal company shares dipped alongside renewable energy stocks on Wednesday. The market reaction reflected concerns, raised by some coal companies in recent months, that a U.S. departure from the agreement could unleash a global backlash against coal interests outside the United States.

Other countries rallied behind the Paris accord on Wednesday.

A U.S. pullout would be disappointing, but the European Union stands ready to take global leadership on the issue, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in Brussels.

The European Union and China are working on a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to climate and energy policy and the implementation of the Paris agreement, according to an EU official with knowledge of the plans.

Trump vowed during his 2016 presidential campaign to "cancel" the Paris deal within 100 days of becoming president on Jan. 20 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.

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.

Senior adviser Steve Bannon, who wants Trump to focus on actions that will rev up his conservative political base, has long opposed the Paris accord. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, has come to the view that the standards set out in the agreement did not work for the U.S. economy and the question was whether to try to change those standards within the agreement or pull out, another senior administration official said.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka, favors staying in, the official said, and she has sought to ensure her father heard all sides in the debate.

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.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, David Alexander, Doina Chiacu, Chris Kahn, Richard Valdmanis, Timothy Gardner, David Ingram and Rodrigo Campos; Writing by Will Dunham and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Cynthia Osterman)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN18R1J4

Please, just announce we're pulling out. End it now. Stop torturing US with waiting to know. We don't need the "roll-out", we don't need "details", just pull US out and let US know you will follow-through.

Also, China is not going to help US with North Korea, because they can't and don't have the power over North Korea to do so. They are not going to starve or freeze North Koreans and create a huge migration flow into China.

Finish this stupid Paris Accord that's only in place to make solar panel companies a bunch of money. Solar panels are fine, but they carry ther own environmental impact, a lot of it, as you'll soon learn when millions and millions of acres of farm land and forests are cleared for solar panel farms. Then what? You've lost habitat for wildlife, you lost trees so important to our environment, you also have energy requirements to produce the panels and lots of toxic pollution in their manufacture. They are a nice alternative to fossil fuels, but they carry their own very large environmental impact.

We want all forms of energy, A to Z, "all of the above".

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 32m32 minutes ago

I will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3:00 P.M. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Please let it be true that we are pulling out of this awful Paris Accord. We want all forms of energy, "all of the above", no international picking of winners and losers.

Tell Elon Musk of Tesla, who is threatening to resign from 2 of your advisory boards over this, "nice having you on board until you put lining your own pockets before the well-being of the people of the United States, but as President I'm not putting coal miners or oil-rig outfitters out of work or their companies out of business so you can sell more $100,000 electric cars to rich people."

This Paris Accord is not about the environment or climate change, it's about having an international pact to promote certain industries over others at the expense of the United States, and this is: WRONG!!!

Period.

It's true! Trump is pulling US out of Paris Accord. Official announcement coming any minute. Thank you President Trump, such a hard decision, so much pressure to stay in, but you stood tall and stuck by our citizens, businesses and economy as we hoped you would. Thank you very very much.

Yes Judy, it is true. We did it.

Related:

Video of announcement on America's withdrawal from the Paris Accord.

YIPPEE!!! Thank you President Trump for standing up for the United States and the American People!! Oh, I am so happy, GeorgiaPeach. I must tell you while I knew this deal was bad for the United States, there was a lot of information that has come forth about it that shows it was even worse than I knew. His presentation during the announcement was so informative and so accurate, the people of our country who will take time to listen to his comments and those of Pence and Pruitt, will learn what a truly close call we had to losing our country and economy over a potential 2/10th of 1 percent temperature change, maybe, by the year 2100. NOT WORTH IT, NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Sanity is restored in our White House with President Donald J Trump. We are so lucky to have him there.

Yes, GeorgiaPeach, "we did it" indeed!!

"I was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris." -- Donald J Trump

I loved that!