Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Reaction to U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, 2017
Trump Administration (first term)  Vice President Mike Pence Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term |
Domestic affairs: Abortion • Crime and justice • Education • Energy and the environment • Federal courts • Firearms policy • First Amendment • Healthcare • Immigration • Infrastructure • LGBTQ issues • Marijuana • Puerto Rico • Social welfare programs • Veterans • Voting issues Economic affairs and regulations: Agriculture and food policy • Budget • Financial regulation • Jobs • Social Security • Taxes • Trade Foreign affairs and national security: Afghanistan • Arab states of the Persian Gulf • China • Cuba • Iran • Iran nuclear deal • Islamic State and terrorism • Israel and Palestine • Latin America • Military • NATO • North Korea • Puerto Rico • Russia • Syria • Syrian refugees • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity |
| Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration |
Ballotpedia's scope changes periodically, and this article type is no longer actively created or maintained. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
On June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Under the agreement, signatory countries pledge to reduce carbon dioxide and similar emissions in an effort to limit human-caused climate change. Trump argued that the agreement was unfair to the United States, would reduce jobs, and would have little effect on global temperatures if fully implemented.[1][2]
This article outlines reactions from states, government officials and influencers, and others on U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. If you know of anything else that should be included here, please contact us.
Overview of the agreement
In April 2016, the United States under President Barack Obama joined a 31-page international agreement, commonly known as the Paris Climate Agreement, at the United Nations. Signatory countries agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and similar emissions. Carbon dioxide and similar gases trap heat that helps warm the planet for human habitation and that some scientists have hypothesized contribute to human-caused global warming at increased concentrations in the atmosphere. Signatory countries agreed to a long-term goal of keeping an increase in average global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100. Signatory countries also agreed to pursue policies aimed at keeping any temperature increase at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2100. Under the agreement, each nation sets a goal for its emissions, which is not legally binding. Developed countries like the United States are required to finance climate change mitigation efforts and emissions reduction programs for developing countries through the United Nations' Green Climate Fund, which had a goal of providing $100 billion each year to developing countries for climate change purposes by 2020.[3][4]
Reaction from U.S. states
Climate Alliance
Following Trump's June 1 announcement, the governors of California, Washington, and New York announced that their states would adhere to the Paris agreement's goals to reduce carbon dioxide CO2 and other greenhouse gases—a coalition the governors called the U.S. Climate Alliance. "I don't believe fighting reality is a good strategy — not for America, not for anybody. If the President is going to be AWOL in this profoundly important human endeavor, then California and other states will step up," California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said in a joint statement with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
The table below shows the states that have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance as of July 14, 2017.
| U.S. states in the U.S. Climate Alliance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Governor | Governor's partisan affiliation | Date joined |
| California | Jerry Brown | Democratic  |
June 1, 2017 |
| New York | Andrew Cuomo | Democratic |
June 1, 2017 |
| Washington | Jay Inslee | Democratic |
June 1, 2017 |
| Connecticut | Dannel Malloy | Democratic |
June 2, 2017 |
| Rhode Island | Gina Raimondo | Democratic |
June 2, 2017 |
| Massachusetts | Charlie Baker | Republican  |
June 2, 2017 |
| Vermont | Phil Scott | Republican |
June 2, 2017 |
| Oregon | Kate Brown | Democratic |
June 2, 2017 |
| Hawaii | David Ige | Democratic |
June 2, 2017 |
| Virginia | Terry McAuliffe | Democratic |
June 5, 2017 |
| Minnesota | Mark Dayton | Democratic |
June 5, 2017 |
| Delaware | John C. Carney Jr. | Democratic |
June 5, 2017 |
| Colorado | John Hickenlooper | Democratic |
July 11, 2017 |
Support and opposition
Below are arguments made by proponents and opponents of the agreement.
Proponents of the agreement argue that an international climate agreement between developed and developing countries is necessary to achieve reductions in potential temperature rises and reductions in carbon dioxide and similar emissions in order to prevent potentially harmful impacts from global warming. Further, proponents argue that the agreement will help spur further emissions reductions by prompting more private and government funding for renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, which emit less carbon dioxide.[5][6]
Opponents of the agreement argue that pledges from signatory countries like the United States, China, India, Pakistan, and others will reduce global temperatures by 0.2 degrees Celsius by the year 2100, which would not have a meaningful impact on global temperatures according to critics. Further, opponents argue that policies such as the Clean Power Plan, which mandates reductions of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, would not come close in meeting the United States' pledge and would have no effect on global temperatures. Some opponents argue that policies like the Clean Power Plan will increase energy prices for U.S. households.[7][8]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Paris Agreement U.S. withdrawal reaction. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Federal policy on energy and the environment, 2017-2020
- Federal policy on climate change, 2017
- Federal policy on energy, 2017-2018
Footnotes
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump to pull US out of Paris climate deal: reports," May 31, 2017
- ↑ Axios, "Scoop: Trump is pulling U.S. out of Paris climate deal," May 31, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedParisclimate - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedadoption - ↑ The Atlantic, "Is Hope Possible After the Paris Agreement?" December 12, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Is the Paris Climate Agreement a Good Strategy?" December 18, 2015
- ↑ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Energy and Climate Outlook - Perspectives from 2015," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ National Review, "Another Obama Legacy: Americans Will Pay Billions for a Useless Climate Agreement," April 22, 2016
| |||||||||||||||||||
