Joe Biden promises that on his first day in office the United States will rejoin the Paris Agreement, an international agreement intended to reduce global temperatures and prevent climate change. This agreement wasn’t approved by Congress and has so far been a disaster, as the world’s largest polluters aren’t changing their behavior.
Rejoining the deal might make environmentalists feel good, but it will disserve American families while failing to properly steward the Earth.
Jordan McGillis, the deputy director of policy at the Institute for Energy, argues that the agreement’s success depends on whether China changes its behavior:
China isn’t the only country failing to abide by the Paris Agreement, as only seven countries out of 185 are on track to keep their promises. The U.S. shouldn’t rejoin this failed deal, especially as China, the largest emitter globally, is promising to increase their carbon emissions to peak levels by 2030 before (unbelievably) decreasing to zero by 2060. India (7% of world emissions) and Russia (5%), the third and fourth-biggest carbon dioxide emitters, don’t have any reduction goals at all.
So the Paris Agreement isn’t working, with or without America’s involvement.
If the U.S. rejoins the Paris Agreement and, unlike the rest of the world, takes the agreement seriously, we will ruin our economy. We will be forced to reduce emissions by 26% below 2005 levels. This process is extremely costly and will strain an American economy slowly recovering from the COVID-induced recession. The U.S. is already the only top-four emitter to reduce its emissions. Further cuts would jeopardize our economic well-being.
Cutting carbon emissions costs trillions of dollars. Increasing energy costs, regulatory barriers, and frivolous lawsuits will harm Americans’ wallets. For example, a ban on fracking will cost millions of jobs while lowering incomes and increasing the average family’s energy costs by approximately $500 a month.
Rushing to net-zero will put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage compared to countries with cheaper energy. Many jobs will move to countries with more pollution but lower costs as we seek to meet unrealistic goals. In the wake of a pandemic, we simply can’t afford to offshore jobs right now.
Bad climate decisions are already hurting average Americans. A coal power plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, was closed for environmental reasons, and users are paying the remaining $397 million in costs while also having to acquire new power sources. These customers received higher bills because elites were more concerned with arbitrary environmental goals than with helping their constituents.
There are dozens of coal plants in the U.S. with decades of useful life left and billions in loans left to be paid off. These coal plants are being replaced with wind, solar and natural-gas plants long before they are obsolete, leaving consumers to foot the bill.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are building at least another 180 coal plants, and India is constructing at least 60 more coal-powered plants. There are more than 360 coal plants under construction in the world right now. Worldwide, the output of carbon emissions has not peaked; it is still going up and will continue rising, regardless of what America does.
Thankfully, continued carbon emissions won’t be nearly as apocalyptic as some experts claim. Time Magazine’s ‘Hero of the Environment’ Michael Shellenberger, is among those to have awoken from climate change alarmism. He has pointed out that the world has bigger problems than attempting to lower the world’s temperature.
We must remain level-headed and not allow radicals to sacrifice our future recovery on the altar of climate alarmism. We should prioritize Americans’ well-being over the whims of climate elitists. We can do this while also being good stewards of the Earth.
Frank Lasee is a former Wisconsin state senator and former member of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. The district he represented had two nuclear power plants, a biomass plant, and numerous wind towers. He has experience dealing with energy, the environment, and the climate.
