President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that the United States would pull out of the Paris climate agreement, saying that it would not only help the economy of the United States but act as “a reassertion of America’s sovereignty.”
Signed during the Obama administration, the agreement asks countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2020. Trump, however, claimed that its implementation would be bad for American jobs.
“The bottom line is that the Paris Accord is very unfair at the highest level,” the president said during a White House press conference. “The agreement doesn’t eliminate coal jobs; it just transfers them out of the United States and ships them to foreign countries. This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States.”
“Foreign leaders in Europe, Asia, and across the world should not have more to say with respect to the U.S. economy than our own citizens and their elected representatives,” Trump went on to say. “Thus, our withdrawal from the agreement represents a reassertion of America’s sovereignty.”
Although the Paris Accord is non-binding, the move represents a symbolic victory for the Trump administration. The withdrawal reinforces some of Trump’s key campaign themes, including his attempts to deregulate the federal government, increase energy jobs, and renegotiate international agreements in general.
Supporters were pleased, citing its effects on American workers.
“The Paris climate agreement … would have driven up the cost of energy, hitting middle-class and low-income Americans the hardest,” House speaker Paul Ryan noted. “In order to unleash the power of the American economy, our government must encourage production of American energy. I commend President Trump for fulfilling his commitment to the American people and withdrawing from this bad deal.”
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell also said that “President Obama made commitments in this deal based off a costly power plan that we knew at the time was on shaky legal ground.”
“By withdrawing from this unattainable mandate,” he continued, “President Trump has reiterated his commitment to protecting middle class families across the country and workers throughout coal country from higher energy prices and potential job loss.”
Others, however, thought that Trump’s actions would harm the environment, among other consequences.
“At this moment, when climate change is already causing devastating harm around the world, we do not have the moral right to turn our backs on efforts to preserve this planet for future generations,” Senator Bernie Sanders said, according to the Hill.
And the day before, amid reports Trump would formally announce a withdrawal from the accord, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying, “In walking away from this agreement, the President is denying scientific truths, removing safeguards that protect our health and our environment, protecting polluters and their dirty energy agenda, and threatening our national and global security.”
Trump argued his action was in the interest of the American people—and said the United States would seek “a new deal.”
“The Paris Accord would undermine our economy, hamstring our workers, weaken our sovereignty, impose unacceptable legal risk, and put us at a permanent disadvantage to other countries of the world. It is time to exit the Paris Accord and time to pursue a new deal that protects the environment, our companies, our citizens, and our country.”
