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Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he will withdraw the United States from participation in the Paris climate accord, weakening global efforts to combat climate change and siding with conservatives who argued that the landmark 2015 agreement was harming the economy. WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, weakening efforts to combat global warming and embracing isolationist voices in his White House who argued that the agreement was a pernicious threat to the economy and American sovereignty.
In a speech from the Rose Garden, Mr. Trump said the landmark 2015 pact imposed wildly unfair environmental standards on American businesses and workers. He vowed to stand with the people of the United States against what he called a “draconian” international deal.
“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” the president said, drawing support from members of his Republican Party but widespread condemnation from political leaders, business executives and environmentalists around the globe.
Mr. Trump’s decision to abandon the agreement for environmental action signed by 195 nations is a remarkable rebuke to heads of state, climate activists, corporate executives and members of the president’s own staff, who all failed to change his mind with an intense, last-minute lobbying blitz. The Paris agreement was intended to bind the world community into battling rising temperatures in concert, and the departure of the Earth’s second-largest polluter is a major blow.
Mr. Trump said he wanted to negotiate a better deal for the United States, and the administration said he had placed calls to the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Canada to personally explain his decision. A statement from the White House press secretary said the president “reassured the leaders that America remains committed to the trans-Atlantic alliance and to robust efforts to protect the environment.”
But within minutes of the president’s remarks, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement saying that the Paris climate accord was “irreversible” and could not be renegotiated.
The decision was a victory for Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, who spent months quietly making their case to the president about the dangers of the agreement. Inside the West Wing, the pair overcame intense opposition from other top aides, including Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, and his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.
Ms. Trump, in particular, fought to make sure that her father heard from people supportive of the agreement, setting up calls and meetings with world leaders, corporate executives and others. But by Thursday, aides who pushed to remain part of the agreement were disconsolate, and it was Mr. Pruitt whom the president brought up for victory remarks at the Rose Garden event.
The president’s speech was his boldest and most sweeping assertion of an “America first” foreign policy doctrine since he assumed office four months ago. He vowed to turn the country’s empathy inward, rejecting financial assistance for pollution controls in developing nations in favor of providing help to American cities struggling to hire police officers.
“It would once have been unthinkable that an international agreement could prevent the United States from conducting its own domestic affairs,” Mr. Trump said.
In Mr. Trump’s view, the Paris accord represents an attack on the sovereignty of the United States and a threat to the ability of his administration to reshape the nation’s environmental laws in ways that benefit everyday Americans.
“At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country?” Mr. Trump said. “We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore. And they won’t be.”
But business leaders like Elon Musk of Tesla, Jeffrey R. Immelt of General Electric and Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman Sachs said the decision would ultimately harm the economy by ceding the jobs of the future in clean energy and technology to overseas competitors.
Mr. Musk, who had agreed to be a member of a two business-related councils that Mr. Trump set up this year, wrote on Twitter that he would leave those panels.
“Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” he said.
Under the accord, the United States had pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 and commit up to $3 billion in aid for poorer countries by 2020.
By stepping away from the Paris agreement, the president made good on a campaign promise to “cancel” an agreement he repeatedly mocked at rallies. As president, he has moved rapidly to reverse Obama-era policies aimed at allowing the United States to meet its pollution-reduction targets as set under the agreement.
“We are getting out,” Mr. Trump said Thursday. “But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great.”
In his remarks, Mr. Trump listed sectors of the United States economy that would lose revenue and jobs if the country remained part of the accord, citing a study — vigorously disputed by environmental groups — asserting that the agreement would cost 2.7 million jobs by 2025.
But he will stick to the withdrawal process laid out in the Paris agreement, which President Barack Obama joined and most of the world has already ratified. That could take nearly four years to complete, meaning a final decision would be up to the American voters in the next presidential election.But he will stick to the withdrawal process laid out in the Paris agreement, which President Barack Obama joined and most of the world has already ratified. That could take nearly four years to complete, meaning a final decision would be up to the American voters in the next presidential election.
Still, Mr. Trump’s decision is a remarkable rebuke to fellow heads-of-state, climate activists, corporate executives and members of the president’s own staff, all of whom failed this week to change Mr. Trump’s mind with an intense, last-minute lobbying blitz. Republican lawmakers hailed Mr. Trump’s decision, calling it a necessary antidote to the overreach of Mr. Obama’s policies aimed at reducing planet-warming carbon emissions.
It makes good on a campaign promise to “cancel” an agreement he repeatedly mocked and derided at rallies, saying it would kill American jobs. As president, he has moved rapidly to reverse Obama-era policies designed to allow the United States to meet its pollution-reduction targets as set under the agreement.
“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States,” the president said. “We are getting out. But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great.”
Mr. Trump said that the United States will immediately “cease all implementation of the nonbinding Paris accord” and what he said were “draconian financial” and other burdens imposed on the country by the accord.
In his remarks, Mr. Trump listed sectors of the United States economy that would suffer lost revenues and jobs if the country remained part of the accord, citing a study — disputed vigorously by environmental groups — that claims the agreement would cost 2.7 million jobs by 2025.
Mr. Obama, in a rare assertion of his political views as a former president, castigated the decision.
“The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created,” he said in a statement. “I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”
Most Republicans applauded the decision.
“I applaud President Trump and his administration for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader.“I applaud President Trump and his administration for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader.
Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said, “The Paris climate agreement set unworkable targets that put America at a competitive disadvantage with other countries and would have raised energy costs for working families.” But Mr. Trump’s call for new global negotiations about the planet’s climate drew derision from Democrats in the United States and other heads of state.
But Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, tweeted, “Climate change requires a global approach. I’m disappointed in the President’s decision.” President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada each issued rebukes to Mr. Trump. “Make our planet great again,” Mr. Macron said.
In recent days, Mr. Trump withstood withering criticism from European counterparts who accused him of shirking America’s role as a global leader and America’s responsibility as the world’s second largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gasses. And he shrugged aside pleas from executives of the United States’ largest companies, who said the decision will damage the environment and hamper their efforts to compete around the world. On Twitter, Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Union’s commissioner for climate, said that “today’s announcement has galvanized us rather than weakened us, and this vacuum will be filled by new broad committed leadership.”
Mr. Trump also found himself at the center of a bruising, monthslong debate inside the White House that pitted senior members of his staff against each other. Some argued to leave the Paris agreement and others insisted that the United States should remain, even as the administration dismantles pollution standards. Mr. Obama, in a rare assertion of his political views as a former president, said, “The nations that remain in the Paris agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created.”
The president’s decision was a victory for Stephen K. Bannon, his chief strategist, and Scott Pruitt, his Environmental Protection Agency administrator, both of whom had argued forcefully to abandon the global agreement in favor of a clean break that would clear the way for a new environmental approach. “Even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got,” Mr. Obama said.
Other top aides, including Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council; the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump; and his secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, had insisted to Mr. Trump that remaining a part of the agreement would have allowed the United States to eviscerate Obama-era climate rules without as much damage to relations with other countries. In recent days, Mr. Trump withstood withering criticism from European counterparts who accused him of shirking America’s role as a global leader and America’s responsibility as history’s largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gasses.
After the fierce debate of the past weeks, the White House took on the trappings of a celebration. The Rose Garden was packed with reporters, activists and members of Mr. Trump’s administration, who waited in at the hot sun for the president’s announcement. Scores of staff members lined the sides of the Rose Garden as a military band played soft jazz. After a fierce debate inside the administration, the White House on Thursday took on the trappings of a celebration. The Rose Garden was packed with reporters, activists and members of Mr. Trump’s administration. Scores of staff members lined the sides of the Rose Garden as a military band played soft jazz.
Supporters of the Paris agreements reacted with pent-up alarm, condemning the administration for shortsightedness about the planet and a reckless willingness to shatter longstanding diplomatic relationships.Supporters of the Paris agreements reacted with pent-up alarm, condemning the administration for shortsightedness about the planet and a reckless willingness to shatter longstanding diplomatic relationships.
“This is disgraceful,” said Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA’s executive director. “By withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, the Trump administration has turned America from a global climate leader into a global climate deadbeat.” “Removing the United States from the Paris agreement is a reckless and indefensible action,” said Al Gore, the former vice president who has become an evangelist for fighting climate change. “It undermines America’s standing in the world and threatens to damage humanity’s ability to solve the climate crisis in time.”
Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said, “Trump just confirmed his total contempt for our planet’s future,” condemning “this reckless rejection of international climate cooperation” that was “turning our country into a rogue nation.” Corporate leaders also condemned Mr. Trump’s action.
Corporate leaders also condemned Mr. Trump’s action. In a statement on its website, I.B.M. reaffirmed its support for the Paris agreement and took issue with the president’s contention that it is a bad deal for American workers and the American economy. On its website, I.B.M. reaffirmed its support for the Paris agreement and took issue with the president’s contention that it was a bad deal for American workers and the American economy.
“This agreement requires all participating countries to put forward their best efforts on climate change as determined by each country,” the company said in the statement. “IBM believes that it is easier to lead outcomes by being at the table, as a participant in the agreement, rather than from outside it.” “This agreement requires all participating countries to put forward their best efforts on climate change as determined by each country,” the company said. “I.B.M. believes that it is easier to lead outcomes by being at the table, as a participant in the agreement, rather than from outside it.”
Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive of General Electric, took to Twitter to say he was “disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.” Mr. Immelt, the chairman and chief executive of General Electric, took to Twitter to say he was “disappointed” with the decision. “Climate change is real,” he said. “Industry must now lead and not depend on government.”
But Mr. Trump was resolute.But Mr. Trump was resolute.
“It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio, Detroit, Mich., and Pittsburgh, Pa., along with many, many other locations within our great country before Paris, France,” he said. “It is time to make America great again.” “It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; and Pittsburgh, Pa., along with many, many other locations within our great country, before Paris, France,” he said. “It is time to make America great again.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto responded on Twitter, “I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future.” The mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, responded on Twitter, “I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future.”