President Donald Trump announced on 1 June 2017 that under his Administration, “the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or really an entirely new transaction under terms that are fair to the United States.”
Among items the President deemed unfair were agreements how many coal plants could be constructed in India, China, and Europe versus restrictions on the United States. The President characterized the Paris Accord as a redistribution of wealth and jobs from the U.S. to other nations, while claiming that even if it is fully implemented, the agreement would make only “Even if the Paris Agreement were implemented in full, with total compliance from all nations, it is estimated it would only produce a two-tenths of one degree Celsius reduction in global temperature by the year 2100.”
Trump went on to say that just 14 days of emissions from China could wipe out any gains made by restricting U.S. emissions.
He added “So, we're getting out, but we will start to negotiate and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great. If we can't, that's fine.”
Response from global stakeholders who feel the U.S. should honor its commitment to the Paris Accord was vehement. French President Emmanuel Marcon called withdrawing from the agreement a “mistake” and added that, “If we do nothing, our children will know a world of migrations, of wars, of shortage. A dangerous world.”
Under the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, representatives from 196 nations agreed on 12 December 2015 to adopt green energy sources, cut down on climate change emissions and limit the rise of global temperatures, while also cooperating to address the impact of climate change, such as rising oceans. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. Further information on key aspects of the Agreement can be found here.
A video of the President’s statement is available here.
