Examination of the Implications of the United States’ Decision to Withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords

The Paris Accords were finalized at a global climate summit in 2015, and they went into effect in November 2016 after being ratified by many nations, including the United States and China (Staff, 2017). But for Nicaragua and Syria, both of the deal's signatories agreed to curb carbon emissions voluntarily in order to keep global temperatures from rising above two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the gathered nations, such a temperature level may pose a possibly unsustainable danger to the earth and human communities (Dong, 2017). The entire Paris Agreement got based on goodwill, and there are no disciplinary actions for noncompliance or means of enforcing the Agreement. The goodwill also entails the Green Climate Fund, which involves the transfer of funds from the world's rich countries to various developing countries to assist in building resilience, as well as preventing and adapting to different climate change effects (Dong, 2017). However, President Donald Trump has vehemently opposed the 2015 Paris Accord, arguing that it would kill several jobs and create burdensome regulations on the United States economy. As a result, President Trump announced, in June 2017, that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement (Batra, 2017). In my view, the decision of the United States to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement was a bad idea, and this paper presents an argument on why I believe it was not a good idea for the country.





Why the United States’ Decision to Withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords Was a Bad Idea

With the United States accounting for almost one-fifth of all the carbon emissions globally, its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement could weaken collective efforts and commitment to reducing global carbon output, transformation into renewable energy sources, as well as lock various future climate measures (Lehmann, 2017; Dong, 2017). The United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord, therefore, acts as the beginning of a journey to the bottom aimed at destroying planet Earth. The United States leadership played an essential role in Paris, and the country has both the ethical and moral responsibility to lead by example as the nation that has made the highest contribution accumulated greenhouse emissions (Lehmann, 2017; Dong, 2017).

The United States withdrawal could result in some form of trade wars since other countries that are party to the Accord may choose to use heavy tariffs against the United States (Staff, 2017; Mahapatra & Ratha, 2016). Alternatively, the entire Agreement might collapse, making countries to spiral into a race to the bottom, to know who can broadly exploit the available resources and destroy the planet first (Staff, 2017; Mahapatra & Ratha, 2016). The United States' withdrawal, therefore, has significant adverse impacts, including those that directly affect the planet. Without the United States and the Paris Accords, the world is potentially crashing through the critical two degrees' Celsius threshold before the year 2060 (Showstack, 2017; Batra, 2017). Climate scientists consider such a point as the most dangerous climate change effects. It, therefore, means that the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement implies increasing troubles characterized by putting ecosystems out of thump with the climate, as well as increasing food and water shortages (Showstack, 2017; Batra, 2017).

However, if the Paris Agreement undergoes full implementation and brings forth a new energy economy, it can delay the two degrees’ Celsius threshold by about forty years (McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). At the present rate of global carbon emissions, there is a high likelihood of going through the 2 degrees Celsius by the year 2100 with or without the Paris Accord. Nevertheless, with time, the full implementation of the Paris Accord can lead to better adoption (Mahapatra & Ratha, 2016; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017).

The United States Withdrawal from the Paris Accord also puts American businesses at the bottom of the corporate rank (Dong, 2017). If there was ever a decision contrary to the American business and economic interests, it is the lack of consideration of the country’s global standing on climate issues and the impact of climate change on various developing countries (Dong, 2017). The Corporate America are much aware of the adverse effects of climate change, and that is why a section of the country’s leading companies has urged the President reconsider his stand regarding the Paris Accords (Batra, 2017; Staff, 2017). According to such firms, staying in the Paris plan would allow the United States to have a greater say regarding the evolvement of the Agreement. Besides, the American companies have been at the forefront of developing clean energy, a situation which has given Unites States' manufacturers a competitive advantage over their global rivals. However, the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Accords tends to undermine such significant efforts (Batra, 2017; Staff, 2017).

The United States withdrawal from the Paris Accords significantly weakens the world's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That is why Corporate America had to plead with President Trump to stay in the Agreement (Lehmann & Ratha, 2016; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). The move by the United Sates to pull out of the Paris Accords, even after being advised by its allies such as France and Germany, was a show of the country’s noncommittal to greenhouse gas emissions (Lehmann & Ratha, 2016; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). President Trump, therefore, showed hostility to the United States allies, a situation which could adversely impact the outcome of various bilateral trade talks with such countries. In fact, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord has a strong potential for creating negative trade implications for the country (Batra, 2017). In my view, that is not the way to put American interests first.

Additionally, pulling out of the Paris Accord will cause substantial harm to the poor population, both in the United States and other parts of the world (Staff, 2017; Dong, 2017). The details regarding what President Trump’s decision to pull the country out of the Paris Agreement means tend to be lacking (Staff, 2017; Dong, 2017). However, President Trump's move is a clear indication of his lack of commitment to meeting the country's emissions goals. Pulling out of the Paris Accords implies that the United States will not make any additional contributions towards the United Nations' Green Climate Fund. The refusal of the world's largest per capita emitter and largest economy to take on policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and its lack of commitment to making contributions to the Green Climate Fund is an unprecedented and a dangerous move. That is because such contributions mainly get directed to programs aimed at enhancing climate change adaption measures in various world's developing countries (Staff, 2017; Batra, 2017).

The climate change impacts are not hypotheticals to create concerns far in the future. Various international scientific assessments on climate change have put it clear that the climate change impacts are happening now (Showstack, 2017; Dong, 2017). In fact, even the most recent studies have shown that even individual extreme weather changes such as waves and heat can have significant connections to climate change. In other words, the impacts of climate change get felt disproportionately by the world's poor populations, both in the developing and developed countries including the United States (Showstack, 2017; Dong, 2017). However, such impacts of climate change greatly hamper developing countries, which significantly depend on their agricultural sectors, with a majority of the proportion being poor population.

Besides, the developing countries lack the necessary resources for correcting climate change-driven damages (Dong, 2017; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). Therefore, the developing world's desire to improve life quality sustainably can only be achieved if developed countries such as the United States remain committed to reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (Dong, 2017; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). The United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Accords, therefore, makes it more difficult for the delivery of such commitments.

The United States withdrawal from the Paris Accords was also not a good idea because it will significantly hurt the American farmers. The decision of President Trump to pull out the United States from the Paris Agreement is a setback to the American farmers. The United States farmers have the greatest capability of developing systems aimed at reducing and removing greenhouse gas emissions (Batra, 2017). However, the Trump Administration’s move tends to ignore the American farmers, which form a strategic national asset in the world’s fight against climate change. The United States’ agriculture, for almost a century, has been the recognized leader in agricultural innovation and American farmers have always depended on three primary sources in creating the green revolution. Such sources include public research, private industry, as well as public policy (Batra, 2017). While there still exists various production challenges, the primary issues that face humanity are how to maintain productivity in the face of a rising hostile climate, as well as the need for climate stabilization before its further deterioration (Batra, 2017).

All farmers across the world must, therefore, embrace innovation to develop environmental practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the overall attitude of the United States' farmers significantly contributes to preventing them from embracing such a new challenge as most of them are held back by President Trump’s skepticism regarding climate change (Lehmann, 2017; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). The ideas behind President Trump's move to remove the United States from the Paris climate agreement tend to focus on energy policy and fails to consider the American farmers. Agriculture forms one of the most promising sectors in addressing climate change issue by making use of carbon for crop production. The American farmers can be in the forefront of identifying agriculture-based solutions to the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere (Lehmann, 2017; McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). However, by ignoring the Paris Accords, President Trump has indicated that he is not committed to assisting American farmers to work on such solutions.

The United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is also a bad idea because it is unconscionable. In my view, the policies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions matter in equal measure to the agreement to enact such policies. If the United States' president has no goodwill implementing the Paris deal, then his actual withdrawal from the Paris Accords makes no difference. Most world countries, including the United States, will presumably fail to deliver in their climate obligations at one given time (McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). However, other parties to the Paris Agreement will get the opportunity to reprove them for such failure. The United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, therefore, acts as an impediment to creating a new and more prosperous planet. Besides, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement sends a strong message to the rest of the world that it has no intention of making contributions towards saving the world’s most vulnerable population from the impacts of climate change (McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017).

In fact, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is an indication that Trump's Administration takes the climate change issue as of less importance and does not value the lives of those most vulnerable to climate change impacts. The move by Trump's Administration to desperately undermine the far-too-modest climate actions set in motion by the Obama Administration is a great setback to the people of the United States and the world as a whole in the context of creating a sustainable development (Staff, 2017). Besides, the move by the United States to Abandon the Paris Agreement alters the rational deliberation of the remaining parties to the agreement. That is because some nations may only find it reasonable to make sacrifices for the greater good if they believe all the stakeholders will do the same (Staff, 2017; Dong, 2017). The deliberations, therefore, become irrational when one of the primary players, who have made significant contributions to the problem, decides to withdraw from the solution agreement as the problem gets more severe.

The United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris deal is a tragic error of unprecedented global consequence and epic proportions. Climate change impacts are real despite what President Trump might nonsensically, shortsightedly, and stubbornly choose to believe (Batra, 2017; Lehmann, 2017). The fact that climate change is a real phenomenon caused by human activity should no longer be an issue of debate as the Trump Administration might want it to be. In fact, history will harshly judge Trump’s Administration for withdrawing from the Paris Accords because of the grave implications of his failure to handle climate change on a global platform, as well as demonstrating diminished moral leadership to the world. Due to the United States’ move to withdraw from the Paris Accords, the country risks being considered an unreliable nation controlled by administrations that openly prioritize short-termism, corporate greed, as well as nepotism and isolation over reason, science, global sustainability, and growth (Batra, 2017; Lehmann, 2017).

Sadly, the decision to pull out of the Paris Accord tend to be consistent with Trump Administrations’ general attack on central American values and institutions such as human rights and healthcare. It is also consistent with Trump Administration’s attempt to neutralize various institutions such as Environmental Protection Agency, whose role is to champion for environmental conservation (Dong, 2017). In fact, The United States' retreat from the Paris climate accords will not only fail to startup the United States economy but also significantly undermine the long-term competitiveness of the United States' economy, thereby lowering the country's potential to generate innovative and new businesses. The economic effects of the United States withdrawal from the Accord will be detrimental even in the short run (Dong, 2017). That is because the United States is likely to have little access to the increasing renewable energy markets while the presence of its competitors such as China, India, and the European Union grow in such markets.

The United States stands as the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and it promised dedication to cut the emissions got projected to reduce the emissions by about 20 percent (McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017). The United States retreat from the Paris Deal is, therefore, a great disappointment to its European allies since it is likely to weaken their enforcement measures of the Paris climate accords. In fact, the withdrawal from the deal by the world's largest economy is likely to arrest the already established efforts to mitigate climate changes that cause great damages at the coastlines (McEntee, Davidson, & Bell, 2017).

Additionally, the United States exit from the Paris climate agreement is likely to empower China to fill the leadership gap left by the United States in the Paris deal. As a result, China could cede the United States influence in the clean energy challenge, a move which could strengthen China on other issues relating to territorial disputes with its neighbors (Mahapatra & Ratha, 2016). Besides, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Acord is likely to encourage China to create a new alliance with the European Union aimed at advancing shared climate policies is the absence of the United States (Mahapatra & Ratha, 2016). In overall, Trump’s move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement undermines the world’s efforts towards developing and deploying new technologies for reducing carbon emission, which is critical to achieving sustainable development.

Counterargument

Despite the several adverse effects of the United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord, proponents of Trump's move to pull out of the Paris climate agreement argue that the pullout would help in retaining jobs for the American workers, as well as boost the United States economy. Proponents of Trump's move to retreat from the Paris deal also claim that agreement is a trick and a concept created by the Chinese to render the United States manufacturing companies non-competitive in the global market (Tollefson, 2017).

Additionally, the supporters of President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement claim that the Paris deal was Obama Administration's assault on the domestic jobs and energy production. They argue that the United States pullout is an indication of President Trump's commitment to protecting and securing middle-class population across the United States (Tollefson, 2017). Other proponents of the Trump Administration’s move to pull out of the Paris Agreement claim that the Paris climate accord was a raw deal for America since it got signed without the Senate ratification (Showstack, 2017; Staff, 2017). Besides, proponents of the United States withdrawal from the agreement claim that the Paris deal would increase the cost of energy, thereby disadvantaging low-income and middle-class Americans the hardest. They further argue that the American government has to encourage the production of American energy for it to realize the American economic goals (Showstack, 2017).

However, despite such claims by proponents of Trump Administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord remains as an immoral, irresponsible, and a dangerous move by Trump Administration, which tends to exhibit consistent deviation from reality. It is therefore imperative to resist such moves through local action, state intervention, as well as the corporate world’s visionary stewardship. Various countries such as Germany, India, China, and the European Union can also add their voice to express their disappointment to the United States action of pulling out of the Paris Accord. Every country, including the United States, owe it to the future inhabitants of the planet, and it is therefore essential for the United States to show commitment and take part in the world’s efforts to building a sustainable world.

The response to such a move by the Trump Administration needs to be a strengthened and renewed international commitment to combating climate change, as well as maintaining an effective global climate governance regime that is capable of keeping global temperatures below the critical level of two degrees centigrade (Batra, 2017; Dong, 2017). However, such interventions must be done in close collaborations with various states in the United States such as New York and California, which have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The interventions must also involve various corporate leaders and companies that have made a genuine commitment towards building a sustainable future (Batra, 2017; Dong, 2017). In fact, the role of the corporate world cannot get underestimated in the fight against climate change, and it is remarkable that most of the world’s leading firms, including those in the United States, have raised their concerns in support of the Paris climate agreement (Staff, 2017).

The proponents of Trump Administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris accord argue that the agreement would cut jobs for several low-income and middle-class Americans. In my view, that is not true because the alternative green energy sources can create new jobs as well. In fact, the United States business sector has been instrumental in accelerating the country’s transition towards clean energy through the use of an incredible level of innovation, which not only reduce the cost of solar and wind energy but also create jobs for several low-income and middle-class Americans (Lehmann, 2017). Trump Administration's withdrawal action, therefore, appears to undermine the efforts of such companies towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Conclusion

The United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement is a huge setback for the world's commitment to reducing the global greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, all the remaining parties to the Paris Agreement need to hold on to their commitments to implementing the agreement since it is of great importance to the entire world’s population. Besides, the remaining parties to the Paris Agreement can still count on several Americans who strongly support the agreement and have full commitments to making their contributions towards creating a sustainable world through the reduction of greenhouse emissions. However, the Trump Administration’s withdrawal action is likely to weaken the world’s commitment to curbing climate change, thereby posing great threats to the lives and health of the world’s most vulnerable population.

References

Batra, M. (2017). Giving Paris is Teeth: What obligations does the Paris agreement place in the United States?. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2957648

Dong, L. (2017). The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Chinese Journal Of Population Resources And Environment, 1-1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10042857.2017.1343903

Lehmann, E. (2017). As Trump nears a decision on Paris climate deal, onlookers react. Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aan6913

Mahapatra, S., & Ratha, K. (2016). Paris Climate Accord: Miles to Go. Journal Of International Development, 29(1), 147-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jid.3262

McEntee, C., Davidson, E., & Bell, R. (2017). What Does U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement Mean?. Eos. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2017eo074971

Showstack, R. (2017). Trump Says the United States Will Withdraw from Paris Climate Accord. Eos. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2017eo075283

Staff, S. (2017). Trump dumps Paris climate deal: reaction. Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aan6925

Tollefson, J. (2017). Trump nominee backs Paris climate agreement and questions Iran nuclear deal. Nature. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature.2017.21291