This international agreement was signed in April 2016, by President Obama. A short summary of the agreement is given in Wikipedia as follows:
Critics immediately charged that the agreement is really a treaty and requires 2/3 vote from the Senate to become binding. IF what the conservative Heartland Institute said was true, then Obama should have been impeached:
“It is an absolute disgrace that President Obama would assume powers found nowhere in our Constitution to sign a treaty that has never been considered by our Congress — which would reject it if given the opportunity,” said Jay Lehr, science director with the outspoken free-market group Heartland Institute. “To take such a hollow and illegal step as he ends his presidency should tarnish his legacy forever as a man who thought himself king, not president.”
So, President Trump can declare this Agreement to be a Treaty, and send it to the Senate for approval. But, he would be opting for a quiet burial in the Senate and that would be pretty obvious.
But, Trump likes Executive Orders and the agreement seems really to fall into this category because the agreement does not legally compel the US to cut back carbon emissions.
The real zinger is that three of the major coal companies (Arch, Cloud Peak, and Peabody) want the US to stay in the agreement, as they see the advantage of having a major pro-coal power “at the table.” Otherwise, European leaders will lead the show, not good for the international interests of US companies.
Pulling out of the accord will not go over well with Chinese leaders, who are aggressively cutting their own emissions. The smoke from coal burning has created a real health concern in many Chinese cities. We need Chinese cooperation desperately to reign in North Korea’s nuclear program.
Right now, our new Secretary of Energy seems most content with cleaning house, removing any global warming believers as possible. With the new, ineffective DOE, a policy change to do nothing, seems likely. I believe Trump has said he is studying the options on climate change and our commitment to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement.
The smaller countries who have signed the agreement, are likely looking to the US to help them with alternative energy sources. This doesn’t mesh well with Trump’s hyper nationalistic themes.
A meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2017 in Bonn. Four top polluters, China, India, US Japan and the EU have ratified the accord. Russia looks like the major climate change denier as it has not ratified the agreement,
List of carbon emissions by country
Does Trump really want to join Russia and be the world’s second climate change denier?
Stay tuned,
Dave
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