Pulling out of the Paris climate agreement may be President Trump’s worst decision yet. A vast majority of Americans support staying in the deal, including nearly half of his own supporters.
Nonetheless, the White House has begun telling conservative supporters that it will formally pull out of the Paris climate agreement. And even though President Trump has yet to formally make an announcement on the deal, the fallout is already swift and severe.
A leaked set of talking points from the Trump White House says:
“The Paris Accord is a BAD deal for Americans, and the President’s action today is keeping his campaign promise to put American workers first.”
However, it’s unclear exactly whom Trump is trying to appease by pulling out of the agreement, which is supported by 197 countries across the globe, including the nation’s largest and most powerful businesses. Twenty-five of America’s biggest corporations wrote a letter, urging Trump to honor the Paris agreement, saying:
"Climate change presents both business risks and business opportunities," and that the agreement’s framework is good for jobs and fairly spreads the burden of responsibilities to other nations, not just the United States.
When you go against such an overwhelming majority opinion, there is bound to be fallout. Here’s what we know so far:
Elon Musk has publicly said he will pull out as an adviser to the Trump Administration if Trump withdraws from the Paris agreement
- Our friends at Participant Media are responding by hosting advanced community screenings of “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” in several major markets for people to discuss climate change. The film, a follow-up to Al Gore’s 2006 Academy Award-winning movie, is the only documentary to cover the development of the Paris Accord.
- A new poll found that majorities in all 50 states support staying in the Paris Agreement, including 47 percent of Trump’s own supporters. Overall, 67 percent of voters say the United States should stay in the Paris Agreement, including 51 percent of Republicans.
- Withdrawing from the agreement could seriously hurt America’s trade status with other countries and international companies. Such consequences may include other countries imposing taxes on U.S. exports.
- In a tweet to its followers, The Sierra Club said pulling out of the agreement is “one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any President.”
And none of this even includes the obvious potential consequences for global climate change if America backs down from the Paris Agreement. The only thing that’s certain is withdrawing is a disaster for America’s standing in the world and a disaster for the growing majority of people who agree it’s time to get serious about combating climate change.
