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posted by martyb on Friday June 02 2017, @03:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the promises-kept dept.

[Ed Note: What follows is the official press release from President Donald Trump at the White House. It marks the official stance of the United States pulling out of the Paris Agreement. Though there is certainly a political aspect to this, I would like to see if we can try to avoid political bickering and focus discussion on the actual details of the press release. See, also, our previous coverage, Report: Trump Plans to Exit Paris Climate Agreement. --martyb]

From the desk of President Donald J. Trump

For Immediate Release

June 01, 2017

President Trump Puts American Jobs First

“Our government rushed to join international agreements where the United States pays the costs and bears the burdens while other countries get the benefit and pay nothing.” – President Donald J. Trump

ALREADY THE WORLD’S ENERGY LEADER: The United States had already become the leader in cutting CO2 emissions while still leading in oil & gas production.

  • In the United States, energy related carbon dioxide emissions have significantly declined since before the Paris Climate Accord was negotiated, and will continue to decline as a share of worldwide emissions, particularly when compared to other nations such as China and India.
    • The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2017 Annual Energy Outlook reports that, from 2005 to 2016, energy related carbon dioxide emissions fell at an average annual rate of 1.4%.
    • Emissions are projected to continue to fall from 2016 to 2040. 
    • Meanwhile, the EIA reports that emissions in the developing world are expected to double their 2005 levels by 2040.
  • According to recent U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States remained the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas combined.
  • The United States continues to be a world leader in energy, but increased competition from countries like China demonstrates the need for policies that enable America to compete on a global scale.

HARMFUL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: The Paris Climate Accord could cost the United States economy millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic output over the next several decades.

  • According to an analysis by National Economic Research Associates (NERA), meeting President Obama’s commitment under the Paris Climate Accord would cost the United States nearly $3 trillion by 2040.
    • By 2040, the American economy could have 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs, including 3.1 million fewer manufacturing jobs.
    • Industries such as cement, iron and steel, coal, natural gas, and petroleum would be forced to cut production under President Obama’s Paris Climate Accord.

SHOULDERING THE BURDEN: Under the Paris Climate Accord, the United States would carry the burden while other countries would get the benefits.

  • Under the Obama Administration, which signed an agreement without having to deal with the economic repercussions, the United States was committed to reducing CO2 emissions by between 26 and 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.
    • Meanwhile China can continue to increase emissions for the next 13 years.
  • The United States already contributed $1 billion to a UN Green Climate Fund. This would increase to $3 billion under pledges made by the previous Administration.

INEFFECTIVE: Even if every nation fully complied with the Paris Climate Accord, it would barely impact the climate.

  • According to researchers from MIT, if every nation that signed the Paris Climate Accord met all of their commitments until the end of the century, the impact on the climate would be negligible.

PROMISE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump is fulfilling his promise to the American people to stop international agreements that disadvantage the United States.

  • May 26, 2016, then-candidate Trump:
    • “President Obama entered the United States into the Paris Climate Accords— unilaterally, and without the permission of Congress.”
    • “So foreign bureaucrats are going to be controlling what we are using and what we are doing on our land in our country. No way.”

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday June 02 2017, @03:11PM (1 child)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 02 2017, @03:11PM (#519393) Journal

    One out of how many so far?

    Are we going to do some sort of accurate accounting here with a comparison to previous presidents (particularly Obama, who got a huge pass on his promises)? Or are we going to keep saying "But what else have the Romans done for us?" It seems pretty disingenuous to be complaining about promises not kept when Trump is only about a tenth of the way through his term and we're not considering what level of promises broken has been accepted in the past.

    Remember to keep his feet to the fire or there'll be no incentive to keep promises. Winning is an end result that is by no means guaranteed until the end of the game.

    Always good advice, but we don't give presidents magic wands with which to fulfill promises. Promises can be broken simply because the president, no matter how hard they try, simply doesn't have the power or political backing to do it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 02 2017, @07:12PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 02 2017, @07:12PM (#519514)

    accounting here with a comparison to previous presidents

    Feel free to grade on a curve, if that makes you feel better. It may be unrealistic to expect a president to do substantially better than his peers, but I don't believe that low expectations inspire the best performance.

    The accountability of a politician's promises will be mainly determined by the consequences of not keeping them. If someone makes unrealistic promises, then they should also be held accountable for that as well.