Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement

After some back and forth discussion on my Facebook page about this yesterday, and thinking more about this issue, I decided I'm quite tired of denier politicans holding us back and hurting our country. So, fair warning: I'm about to go on a rant. If you don't want to hear the harsh truth, don't read any further. I'm done pulling my punches the more I think about this issue. I am waging war on every politician who is all for pulling out of the Paris Agreement and who keeps calling climate change a hoax. I will not tolerate the harm it will cause our country and my childrens' futures.

For those arguing that this will put us in a better place to compete or that it's a huge tax on U.S. citizens, I ask: why do you want to hurt our economy or our standing as a world leader? Do you hate our country?

Why is the fact that American businesses, including some in the auto, oil and gas industry who are in FULL SUPPORT of this agreement, not sufficient compelling evidence for you to support it as well? Ronald Reagan's own Secretary of State even decries leaving the accord for crying out loud. Is the word of a Republican who served one of the most popular Republican presidents of all time worth nothing to you to even consider?

We are one of the biggest historical overall polluters and to drop out is to completely abandon our responsibility for what we've done, and yet I repeatedly see people demeaned for "never taking responsibility for their own actions and trying to pull themselves up out of their own problems." Seems hypocritical to me, or maybe personal responsibility is only for others and not yourselves? Harsh? Yup, but that's how I feel at this point. I'm quite sick of the double-standard and refusal to understand what the rest of the freaking world gets - 200 nations signed this thing, including China and India, and now we're going to end up on the side of Syria, whom you were happy to see Trump bomb and refuse to allow refugees from. Makes. No. F***ing. Sense.

Climate change is real and leaving the agreement will not change that fact, but it will seriously harm our ability to compete with the rest of the world and keep our economy strong, and it will reduce the respect other nations have for us and the power and influence that we wield. THAT is Unacceptable to me.

From The Atlantic: Leaving the Paris Agreement Would Be Indefensible
I was Obama’s chief climate negotiator. Whether to stay in the agreement is not a close call.
Todd Stern
May 31, 2017

The administration’s withdrawal caucus has argued that the Paris Agreement is a bad deal for the United States, but they don’t have even a passing knowledge of the facts.

The Paris Agreement is ambitious, universal transparent, and balanced. It brings China, India, and other developing countries fully into the regime. It combines strong, aggregate goals with a “bottom-up” structure in which countries decide their emissions targets for themselves and then continually update those targets on five-year cycles. Yet Paris boxes no one in; all are urged to aim high, but targets are not legally binding.

The president’s exit from Paris would be read as a kind of “drop dead” to the rest of the world. Bitterness, anger, and disgust would be the wages of this careless act. As Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state, George Shultz, said recently about Paris, “[g]lobal statecraft relies on trust, reputation and credibility, which can be all too easily squandered. …f America fails to honor a global agreement that it helped forge, the repercussions will undercut our diplomatic priorities across the globe.”

What is perhaps most astonishing about the possibility of withdrawal, given Trump’s business background, is that such a decision would fly in the face of nearly across-the-board support for Paris among top American companies, in sectors ranging from oil and gas to retail, chemicals, utilities, agriculture, finance, information, and autos. Business leaders know climate change is real. They know Paris is an agreement they can work with. They know having U.S. negotiators at the table to protect their interests on matters like intellectual property and trade is crucial. They know that the transition to clean energy is one of the biggest economic plays of this century, that climate change is a major driver of this transition, that the United States is perfectly positioned to lead with our unmatched culture of innovation, but that opting out of Paris will undermine this opportunity to expand markets, create jobs and build wealth.

Paris climate deal: frustrated world leaders prepare to move on without US
Trump is reportedly poised to pull out of Paris – prompting murmurings that the world would be better off without American involvement
Oliver Milman in New York, @olliemilman
Thursday 1 June 2017

While US emissions would start to level off rather than continue their gradual decline, there are signs that India and China, the two other national heavy hitters in emissions, are moving away from coal more quickly than expected, according to Climate Action Tracker.

This has led several economists and large US businesses to fret that the coming boom in solar, wind and other renewable energies will not take place in the US. China signaled its intent earlier this year by announcing it will invest $360bn in renewable energy by 2020, creating more than 13m jobs in the sector.

If the economic fallout of leaving the Paris deal does not sway Trump, the diplomatic and security ramifications may. Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, has urged the US to “keep a seat at the table” in order to maintain its international standing, while UN secretary-general António Guterres has raised the possibility of “risks of conflict” if climate change is not properly addressed.

U.S. Business Leaders Send Open Letter To Trump: 'Don't Abandon Climate Deal'
Victor Lipman, Contributor
Novermber 19, 2016

More than 300 U.S. companies, including 72 with annual revenues exceeding $100 million, have sent an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging him not to abandon the Paris climate agreement.

High-profile organizations signing the letter include Dannon, DuPont, eBay, Gap, General Mills, Hewlett Packard, Hilton, Intel, Kellogg, Levi Strauss, Mars, Monsanto, Nike, Patagonia, Staples, Starbucks, The Hartford, Tiffany and Vail Resorts - plus many others.

Business, Security, Diplomatic Leaders Urge Trump to Stay in Paris Agreement

“Climate change will have the greatest impact on areas and environments already prone to instability, which aligns with DoD’s wider assessment of climate change as a threat multiplier.”
U.S. Defense Department

Big business wants Trump to stick with Paris climate accord
by Alanna Petroff @AlannaPetroff
May 29, 2017

In recent months, big business has lobbied fiercely in favor of the deal, which aims to end the fossil fuel era. Even major oil firms like Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM) back it.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods wrote a personal letter to Trump earlier this month, urging him to stick to the deal. The U.S., he said, is "well positioned to compete" with the agreement in place and staying in means "a seat at the negotiating table to ensure a level playing field."

Business leaders say the Paris deal, also called COP21, will help generate new jobs, limit damage from climate change and help assert American leadership on the global stage.

"By expanding markets for innovative clean technologies, the agreement generates jobs and economic growth," business leaders wrote in a recent ad published in major newspapers. "U.S. companies are well positioned to lead in these markets. Withdrawing from the agreement will limit our access to them and could expose us to retaliatory measures.

From Jim Wright, Stonekettle Station