What is the Paris Agreement and Why Does it Matter if the U.S. Remains a Part of it?
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The public has been waiting for months to hear officially if the Trump administration will pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. Now, media outlets are reporting that day has come, though the official announcement has not yet been made.
But what is the Paris Agreement, and what does it mean if the U.S. withdraws?
The Paris Agreement is the first comprehensive, global agreement to combat man-made climate change. It is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. The goals, from Article 2 of the convention, are:
Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change;
Increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production;
Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
The language of the agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at a UNFCC conference in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015. Signing began on Earth Day, April 22, 2016. By October 2016, there were enough countries that had ratified the agreement that produce enough of the world's greenhouse gases for the agreement to be enacted. The agreement went into effect on November 4, 2016.
As of May 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, 147 of which have ratified it. The only other two U.N. member countries who have not signed it are Syria and Nicaragua.
A poll conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication in November 2016 suggested that 7 out of 10 American voters support staying with the Agreement. Global energy companies, Fortune 500 companies, Democrats and Republicans all support the climate pact. The National Resources Defence Council argues:
"Sticking with the Paris Agreement and ensuring that all countries deliver upon their commitments is in America’s national interest. It protects us from the ravages of climate change that can only be minimized with global action. It creates ways to ensure that other countries are delivering on their own commitments. It is good for American workers and companies as it creates business opportunities and reduces financial risks from climate change damages. It helps the most vulnerable people and reduces security threats from unfettered climate impacts. That is why the Paris Agreement has the strong support of the American people and why the U.S. should champion the Paris Agreement.”
Twenty-two Republican senators sent a letter on May 25 calling for the president to pull out of the Agreement, for two primary reasons. One, continued commitment to the Agreement would get in the way of dismantling key Obama-era environmental regulations, like the Clean Power Plan. Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Plan in late March. Two, they argue staying in the Agreement leaves the federal government open to continuous litigation for not complying with its goals, which the U.S. cannot do on its current deregulation trajectory.
Other environmental experts agree with the senators that the withdrawal from the Agreement should be swift and clean, though for different reasons. The Washington Post highlights a small, but growing, group of scientists and policy experts that believe because of the Agreement’s global importance the U.S. will undermine it less by leaving than by staying in and not following through on targeted commitments:
"...it’s clear that the Trump administration will fail to meet the climate goals that the Obama administration established under the agreement — namely, a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below their 2005 levels by the year 2025. And remaining a part of the accord while blatantly ignoring this commitment could do more damage than simply leaving altogether”
These experts believe the feared domino effect, where the U.S. leaving the Agreement would spur others to leave it, isn’t reflective of what is actually happening in real time. Other countries, like India and China, have actually increased their commitments such that they will exceed their targets since signing the agreement. Instead the domino effect of signers starting to renege on their commitments if a major power like the U.S. stays committed and doesn’t follow through is of more concern.
Should the U.S. stay committed to the Paris Agreement and why? Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)
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