A group of Republican lawmakers warned Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday that President Obama’s climate goals may not survive the next administration, one day before the Paris climate change deal goes into effect.
“Joining international agreements using ‘sole executive agreement authority’ leaves the door open for any future administration to alter its course,” the senators, led by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., wrote in a letter to Kerry.
“Understanding this is especially important in the context of climate change policies, because Congress’s unwillingness to support the president’s international efforts is not the result of gridlock — it is the result of explicit opposition,” the letter added.
The letter came as the United Nations plans an all-day ceremony Friday to celebrate the Paris climate change deal going into effect. The next stage of the agreement begins next week with a two-week conference in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Inhofe and his colleagues pointed out that because the Paris deal was not ratified by Congress, it is nonbinding. That makes it vulnerable to congressional opposition, and the GOP has already targeted removing funds that would support many of the Paris deal’s priorities. The nonbinding nature also makes it vulnerable to whomever is elected next Tuesday.
Donald Trump energy adviser Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said last week that Trump most likely would send the Paris deal to Congress to be ratified, where it would certainly fail.
On a call with reporters, U.S. climate negotiators said they expect the elections to be a top concern among all countries as they journey to Morocco on Monday for the opening of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations climate framework.
“I think there is a great deal of interest, not just domestically, but internationally, in terms of what the election outcome will be,” John Morton, the White House National Security Council’s climate and energy director, said on the call.
Negotiators will meet in Morocco to discuss how to implement the climate agreement reached in Paris last year. Under the deal, 196 countries set nonbinding greenhouse gas reduction targets, including an Obama administration goal to cut emissions by up to 28 percent by 2025.
Republicans in Congress oppose the deal and have voted to undo parts of it, but since it isn’t a binding treaty, the Senate didn’t need to ratify it.
