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Robert Delaney

US President Donald Trump has announced he will withdraw his government’s ratification of an international agreement to limit emissions of greenhouse gases.
“As of today, the US will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord,” Trump said in a special White House briefing.
The president said the agreement “is less about the climate and more about other nations gaining a financial advantage over the United States”.
Why Trump was smart to dump Paris climate pact
Trump’s decision reverses a key pillar of former President Barack Obama’s effort to combat an increase in global temperatures, which scientists say has been hastened by the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels.
The move also cedes global climate action leadership to China, which Trump chided in his speech, and the EU. China’s Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently pledged to work together on environmental issues, including climate change.



The Paris Agreement, a climate action plan drafted as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, enumerates non-binding targets set by each ratifying country for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Scott Pruitt, who Trump appointed as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, said following the president’s speech that the Paris Agreement’s goals are “unachievable”.
Reactions from the scientific community were swift.
“Science has told us that climate change doesn’t have any borders,” Christine McEntee, executive director of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “The US is withdrawing from a global agreement to work in a very constructive and collaborative way to address this threat that we’re already feeling the impact from.
 
How China overtook the US in leading the battle against climate change
“The US, because of our population and energy mix, is one of the top emitters of fossil fuel emissions, so it will be extremely challenging to meet the global goal without the US sharply cutting its emissions as a contribution towards that goal.”
The AGU, a Washington-based non-profit entity that disseminates atmospheric and marine science research, is one of 18 American scientific associations listed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as endorsing assertions that man-made burning of fossil fuels is the primary driver of increasing global temperatures.
The Paris Agreement came into effect in November 2016, after the US and other major greenhouse gas emitters, including China and India, signed the agreement.
The US is one of 147 Paris Agreement signatories, and would be the first to back out.
In his 25-minute speech, Trump alleged that China, India and other countries sought to use the Paris Agreement as a means to gain an economic advantage by taking advantage of allowances for developing economies. 
“Under the agreement, China will be able to increase these emissions by a staggering number of years, 13,” Trump said. “They can do whatever they want for 13 years, not us.”
Meanwhile, Trump said, Washington’s commitments would cost the nation US$3 trillion “in lost GDP and 6.5 million industrial jobs”.
Climate action by the US and China is key to the Paris Agreement’s goal to keep the average global temperature increase to within 2 degrees compared with the pre-industrial era level because the two countries are the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters.
Pegged at over 10 million kilotons of carbon dioxide in 2013, China’s carbon dioxide emissions are double those of the US.
China has committed to cutting its carbon emissions by 40 to 45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020 and reaching peak emissions by 2030 or earlier. Experts, including Andrew Light, a former US State Department climate negotiator, have said China may reach that goal earlier.
How China would help soften impact if Trump abandons Paris climate accord
“There is much the United States can do to address the risks that climate change poses to human health and safety,” the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Washington-based non-profit, said in a statement issued before Trump spoke. “But disregarding scientific evidence puts our communities at risk.
“Choosing not to address climate change would abdicate our leadership role in a critical science policy issue and put current and future generations at great risk.”
Trump held out the prospect of a re-entry to the Paris Agreement or some other international climate action accord, but only after Washington’s formal withdrawal.
“We’re getting out, but we will start to negotiate and will see if we can make a deal that’s fair,” Trump said. “If we can, that’s great, and if we can’t, that’s fine.”
Watch: Anger as Trump announces US withdrawal from global climate deal
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Climate change

Trump pulls US out of climate pact: is China set to lead?

US president claims Paris accord gave other nations a financial edge, while his Environmental Protection Agency head calls deal’s goals ‘unachievable’

epa06002818 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) talks to Premier Minister Li Keqiang (L) during contract signings between both countries in the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 01 June 2017. Merkel and Li will also take part later in a German-Chinese forum. The bilateral and economic relations, foreign policy issues and the G20 summit in July will be discussed. EPA/FELIPE TRUEBA

U.S. President Donald Trump exits following an announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate pact and that he will seek to renegotiate the international agreement in a way that treats American workers better. Photographer: T.J. Kirkpatrick/Bloomberg

President Donald Trump announces that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement Thursday, in the Rose Garden at the White House. Photo: Washington Post / Jabin Botsford

How China overtook the US in leading the battle against climate change

Protesters take part in the People’s Climate March at the White House in Washington on April 29. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2015 file photo, a plume of steam billows from the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H. President Donald Trump may abandon U.S. pledges to reduce carbon emissions, but global economic realities ensure he is unlikely to reverse the accelerating push to adopt cleaner forms of energy. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

World leaders renew vow to fight climate change after Trump pulls US out of Paris agreement

President Donald Trump leaves after making a statement the US is withdrawing from The Paris Climate Change Accord during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House, on June 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo: Abaca Press/TNS

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang waves as he arrives for a meeting at the Europa building in Brussels on Thursday, June 1, 2017. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

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US president claims Paris accord gave other nations a financial edge, while his Environmental Protection Agency head calls deal’s goals ‘unachievable’


Trump pulls US out of climate pact: is China set to lead?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president claims Paris accord gave other nations a financial edge, while his Environmental Protection Agency head calls deal’s goals ‘unachievable’

US president claims Paris accord gave other nations a financial edge, while his Environmental Protection Agency head calls deal’s goals ‘unachievable’