On June 1st, 2017, Trump announced the United States' intention to withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, placing the US in company with Nicaragua and Syria as the lone nations apart from the Agreement. It seems Trump’s determination to destroy the world is resilient, and quite inspiring, as I genuinely wish I had an equal drive of determination whenever I wanted to achieve something. On a serious note, what the hell is Trump, and what appears to be the majority of the Republican party, thinking?
I truthfully cannot understand Trump and his administration. They choose time and time again to deny the scientific evidence that points to the conclusion that if we do not ratify or attempt to in some way re-focus our efforts to use cleaner, environmentally-conscious energy and instill tactics and habitual exercises that are not harmful to the earth, then we are screwed. The decision to pull away from the Paris Climate Agreement is such a backwards decision and an act that clearly contradicts the Trump administration’s consistent and obviously false reassurance to environmentalists of protecting the environment.
In his announcement, Trump states that the Obama administration’s decision in joining this accord “disadvantages the United States.” What Trump and his administrations fail to recognize is that the environment and the conditions of the planet is not strictly a domestic issue but a global predicament. As one of the leading polluters and nations that produce greenhouse gases, the United States needs to take responsibility and make a notable effort in preserving and protecting our planet.
In his speech, or rather list of complaints, it seems that Trump’s sole concern is that countries such as India who will obtain “billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid” while the United States will not receive any type of financial or political benefit. However, a nation such as India, who is a leader in greenhouse emissions, needs foreign aid to ensure their part in protecting the environment and will use their financial support in the agreed manner and not to subsidize their economy.
The focus must not be on the economy or any means of profiteering. Trump references China in his address stating that “we can’t build the plants, but they can.” Trump adds that China is supposedly permitted to “build hundreds of additional coal mines,” which is not part of the accord and raises the question as to why must there be an emphasis on coal? Trump is certain that coal can “Make America Great Again,” but fails to recognize the potential of clean energy plants.
With so much to be explored and found within renewable energy, and other clean energy resources, the United States can only profit from investing in such endeavors. According to a webpage on the Union of Concerned Scientists website, “in 2011, the solar industry employed approximately 100,000 people on a part-time or full-time basis…the hydroelectric power industry employed approximately 250,000 people in 2009; and in 2010 the geothermal industry employed 5,200 people.” Such industries have only just been explored and with the right amount of focus, the Union of Concerned Scientists found that policies put in place to subsidize such industries “would create more than three times as many jobs as producing an equivalent amount of electricity from fossil fuels.”
Trump states that “he will ensure that America will remain the world’s leader on environmental issues…where the burdens and responsibilities are shared among the nations around the world.” Such a statement is quite contradictory. To be a leader in such an issue, the responsibility must fall on the shoulders of the United States, to guide less privileged and developed countries on the same environmentally-conscious path. Trump also states that the Agreement is “empowering some of the world’s top polluting countries,” while also failing to realize that the United States, according to a study conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, is only behind China in “total carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of energy” with “5490.63 million metric tons.”
Climate change is real, and this withdrawal is not only a total chagrin leaving The United States with a black eye, but it is terrifying. If there were any skeptics before, it is now clear that Trump truly hates the planet.
