Trump’s Rejection of Paris Climate Accord Is Epic Blunder
May 31, 2017
Trump’s Rejection of Paris Climate Accord Is Epic Blunder
Statement of David Arkush, Managing Director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program
Note: This morning, media are reporting that President Donald Trump has decided to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.
The decision to pull out of the Paris accord is an epic blunder. Trump set in motion the process of undermining U.S. progress on climate and clean energy with his March executive order on climate and his picks to run key federal agencies. Today’s decision is just another sign that Trump is out of touch not only with the global scientific consensus, but also the global political consensus. The rest of the world will move on without us.
In an administration that seems incapable of doing much right, Trump’s stances on climate change and clean energy still stand out as exceptionally wrongheaded. The U.S. already is suffering from the effects of global warming, and right now we are on course for catastrophic harm as soon as the second half of this century. At the same time, solutions are readily available.
We should move aggressively to convert our transportation and electricity infrastructure to readily available renewable technologies as quickly as possible. In doing so, we not only would stave off the most terrible climate outcomes, but we also would lower electricity bills, put millions of people back to work, boost the economy, make Americans healthier and reclaim the mantle of global leadership.
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