Columns

Pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord: the great prevaricator strikes again

Ralph E. Stone
Friday June 09, 2017 - 12:09:00 PM

In pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, Trump presented some false numbers for the pullout – notably that the Accord would result in the loss of 2.7 million U.S. jobs by 2025.

This is inaccurate because Trump does not take into account normal job rate loss and creation, jobs shifting towards more "green" sectors, and the tangible benefits of cleaner air, water, and less risk of natural disasters along U.S. coastlines. Even Trump’s own senior advisers, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have shared their support for the Paris Accord. Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobile executive, has said that it is possible for the reduction of carbon emissions and job growth to occur simultaneously.

What Trump is really doing by leaving the Accord is protecting the fossil fuel industry, not U.S. jobs. It is not coincidental that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and 21 other Republicans, whose campaigns have collected more than $10 million in oil, gas and coal money since 2012, sent a letter to the president urging him to withdraw from the Paris Accord. 

Additionally, Trump has said, "Let's continue to destroy the competitiveness of our factories & manufacturing so we can fight mythical global warming. China is so happy!" As a global warming skeptic, Trump probably doesn't appreciate that representatives from 196 nations made a historic pact on Dec. 12, 2015, in Paris to adopt green energy sources, cut down on climate change emissions and limit the rise of global temperatures — while also cooperating to cope with the impact of unavoidable climate change. Does Trump even realize how difficult it is to get 195 nations to agree on anything? 

Trump can bluster that he’s putting America first, but climate change is real and will become far more grim in the future.