His withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement belittles his country, but could galvanise the world

Life here in the US feels surreal lately, like a very bad reality TV show, thanks to Donald Trump. In no case is this more evident than the president’s decision – and the process and theatre around it – to abandon the Paris climate agreement and nearly every other country in the world.

The Paris agreement was a groundbreaking deal that allowed each country to decide its own contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Even though it is non-binding, the agreement puts the world on the path to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2C, which scientists warn would be disastrous for our planet.

By abandoning the agreement, we are not only ceding global leadership but also effectively renouncing our global citizenship. The US is joining Nicaragua (which felt the agreement did not go far enough) and Syria (in the midst of a devastating civil war) as the only nations without a seat at the Paris table. As an American, I am embarrassed and ashamed of this abdication of our responsibility, especially since the US has been the world’s largest contributor of carbon emissions over time. We have become a rogue nation.

This action will not put “America first”. Instead, we risk becoming, to cite an actual reality TV show, the “biggest loser” in a global race towards a new, more vibrant and innovative clean energy economy.
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Trump’s dubious claims regarding the impact of the Paris agreement have been widely discredited. No amount of rhetoric will bring back coal and nothing will stop the explosive growth of clean energy jobs. Already, wind and solar employ nearly three times as many people as the coal industry does, according to the Department of Energy’s 2017 energy and employment report.

Trump claimed he was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris. Pittsburgh’s mayor, William Peduto, fired back: “President Trump’s decision is disastrous for our planet, for cities such as Pittsburgh.” In fact, the once smoke-choked industrial city highlights the enormous benefits that come from adopting cleaner energy, as called for under the Paris agreement. The city is a recognised leader for investments in green infrastructure (green roofs, urban forest projects, etc) that create jobs, reduce emissions and protect citizens from climate impacts such as increased urban heat island effect and more intense storms. Pittsburgh has been named the US’s “most livable city” six times since 2000 exactly because of this.


The transition to cleaner and more resilient communities around the US is under way. So too is a shift from dirty coal to cleaner natural gas and renewables. These changes are being driven by market forces that not even Trump can hold back.

But policies do matter. The administration’s direct attack on the environment, from rolling back President Obama’s plan to cut power plant emissions to proposing draconian budget cuts in research and innovation, will slow the momentum in tackling climate change just when it’s more urgent than ever to accelerate action.

Trump’s actions also threaten to cripple the US economy by slowing the growth in renewable energy jobs and by handing global clean energy leadership to China. Already, China has produced more than three times more clean energy jobs than the US has, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

If there’s any good news about Trump’s breathtakingly wrong decision, it has been the swift outpouring of outrage and opposition, both in the US and around the world. Dozens of US mayors and the governors of a number of states, including some Republicans, have vowed to forge ahead with ambitious climate and clean energy plans. In spite of Trump’s announcement, “Massachusetts is aggressively working to exceed the goals of the Paris agreement on the state level, while growing our economy through clean energy innovation and environmental stewardship,” said Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican.
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Like Pittsburgh and Massachusetts, other cities and states – and other countries – see huge benefits in the transition to clean energy. Contrary to the alternative reality presented by Trump, they have already proved that climate action spurs, not harms, economic growth. For example, California’s cap-and-trade programme and other environmental policies have slashed the carbon intensity of its economy by 7% at the same time that the state’s economy grew 6.6%. The regional greenhouse gas initiative, a cap-and-trade programme for the power sector in nine north-eastern states, has cut carbon pollution by 45%, while their economies have grown 8%.Similarly, Germany reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 12% between 2000 and 2015 as its economy grew 16%.

More than 30 states and scores of companies have adopted clean energy targets and goals. A sizable majority of Americans, along with major companies such as ExxonMobil, Apple, Google and Intel, want to remain in the Paris agreement. If enough of these entities act, it’s even possible that they can keep the US within striking distance of meeting its targets in the agreement without any support from Washington, DC, at least in the short-term, though US federal leadership is essential to achieve the deep reductions required over time.
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If Trump thought he would blow up the Paris agreement and cause a stampede for the exits, he was terribly mistaken. If anything, he has stiffened the resolve for climate action around the world. The EU, which has met its previous ambitious carbon pollution reduction targets, has pledged to do more, with or without US leadership. The EU is also working to join forces with China on an emissions trading plan. And China plans to invest at least $360bn by 2020 in a push to be the global leader in renewables. “Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again,” declared France’s president, Emmanuel Macron.

Like so many, I have been dismayed by the US abdication of leadership and responsibility on this central issue of our time. I’m worried about the growing risk of catastrophic climate change and the staggering toll it will take in human suffering when solutions are readily available. The Paris agreement represents unprecedented global co-operation to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. However misguided, Trump has put a spotlight on the undeniable need to act and galvanised people from around the world to create a cleaner and more resilient future. It’s up to all of us now to make that happen.
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...mate-agreement