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President Trump fulfilled his campaign promise to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, as the United States officially exited the agreement yesterday – the first day it was legally able to do so.  

President Trump initially announced the decision to withdraw from the agreement in June of 2017. The Obama administration entered the US into the agreement as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In short, it has countries agreeing to certain emissions reduction commitments through severe environmental regulations. It disproportionately impacts the US economy while allowing the world’s largest CO2 emitters to make virtually no changes. 

The agreement puts the US at a significant competitive disadvantage on the world stage. For starters, the agreement allows China, the largest emitter of CO2 on the planet, to continue to increase or have no cap on their CO2 emissions. India, the third-largest emitter, and Russia, the fourth, are awarded the same exemption.

This, while the US would see 6.5 million American jobs killed by 2040 and a reduction in our GDP by over $2.5 trillion. China does not have to lift a finger until 2030, and even then there are few enforcement measures to maintain compliance. The reality is, the deal does little to reduce global climate emissions while doing major harm to the US economy. 

Exiting the agreement prevented sending billions of taxpayer dollars abroad without congressional approval, putting a stop to the millions of dollars already sent out under the Obama administration. American taxpayers should not be forced to finance projects in foreign nations without their voice in Congress even approving it as President Obama entered the US into this agreement unilaterally and without the necessary approval of the Senate to certify it as a treaty.  

Staying in the Paris Agreement would’ve seen rising energy costs through increased regulations, placing the U.S. at a fundamental disadvantage. The deal sought to punish American industries with burdensome regulations, threaten the employment of thousands of American energy workers, and raise the cost of energy for all Americans.  

The ultimate fate of the U.S.’s involvement in the Paris Agreement may ultimately be tied to the results of the Presidential election, as former Vice President Joe Biden has pledged to re-enter the agreement should he win the election. But, for now, the U.S. has officially withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord. 

ATR applauds the Trump Administration for keeping its word and withdrawing from the disastrous Paris Climate Agreement.