For anyone who doesn't know what the Paris Climate Agreement is, it unites 194 countries under the cause to reduce greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2020. Simple enough, right? Apparently, Donald Trump disagreed.
On June 1, 2017, Donald Trump announced America's removal from the Paris Climate Agreement. He stated that he was elected to be President for the citizens of "Pittsburgh, not Paris." I apologize for being blatantly rude about our President, but how ignorant can he be? This country elected a president who seriously believes that just because it's called the "Paris Climate Agreement," it protects the citizens of Paris.
Really? The citizens of Pittsburgh and the rest of America would be much more protected under a president who acknowledges that the Paris Climate Agreement would've bettered long-term conditions on this planet worldwide, not just in the city of Paris. Trump's withdrawal from this agreement proves his presidential incompetence.
America is now one of three countries excluded from the agreement, along with Syria and Nicaragua. We have taken ourselves out of the strongest agreement ever made towards bettering the conditions for this planet's future. America is the world leader in carbon emissions, at 6,587 million metric tons in 2015. Trump's speech today had an attitude that seemed to say, "Oh, we are big, strong America, we don't need anyone else," when in reality, we need more help reducing emissions than any other country. America is a largely responsible country for the current condition of our planet, so why is our president removing us from an agreement that unites almost every country in the world together for one cause?
Our withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement will not only be bad for the environment but also bad for the economy and our future intended relations with other countries. Several political leaders worldwide have already released statements about the consequences Trump's actions will create for America. A UN expert on foreign relations stated that "(Trump) has just created an astonishing opportunity for the Chinese to assert themselves in the UN system".
Climate change is an urgent, factual issue that America should be taking steps to combat, not steps to overlook. America may be a strong, wealthy country, but we are not impervious to the natural elements of events that will occur as climate change intensifies. This planet's conditions will only continue to worsen, and we are now joined with two developing countries' in ignorance from scientific fact.
Climate change is not a challenge that can be overcome by one country, it is a global issue that needs worldwide agreement and acknowledgment. Without every country working together to understand the impacts of greenhouse gas and to lessen total emissions, this planet will continue on its downward slope.
I hope that Trump is ready to face every adversity alone, because he just isolated our country from a strong, worldwide force on climate change.
