President Trump recently announced his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, citing concerns about its effect on the American economy.
With this decision, the Trump administration is rejecting the agreement’s call for the U.S. to provide financial assistance for developing nations. The U.S. had also agreed to targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions as part of the accord.
So, what does pulling out of the agreement actually do? For one thing, leaving the plan and its commitments behind make the U.S. less likely to meet its goals for curbing emissions.
The accord itself has an official exit process that would take four years to complete. But the Trump administration was already working to roll back efforts on the federal level to meet the challenge outlined by the Paris agreement.
The Clean Power Plan – the Obama administration’s plan for living up to the U.S. obligations under the Paris agreement – itself remains in legal limbo.
President Trump signed an executive order in March directing the EPA to rewrite the Clean Power Plan, a process that must follow the same rules as the original drafting and is sure to face legal challenges of its own.
And in April, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a Trump administration request to delay a decision on the current litigation over the plan. Parties for and against the plan submitted briefs to the court ahead of a May 15 deadline on the question of whether to keep a decision on hold or send the plan back to the EPA for retooling.
Absent support from the federal government, efforts to meet the plan’s goals are continuing on the state and local levels, and even businesses are pledging to move forward.
A group of representatives from state and local governments, companies and academic institutions led by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pledged to help uphold U.S. commitments under the Paris agreement.
Cities including Chicago, Grand Rapids, Mich., and San Francisco have pledged their commitment to renewable energy.
And governors of a growing number of states, led by Washington, California and New York, have responded to the administration’s announcement of withdrawal from the Paris agreement by forming a coalition called the United States Climate Alliance. Hawaii was the first state to pass legislation in support of the agreement’s goals.
Whether these efforts are sufficient to meet the goals outlined by the Paris accord and the Clean Power Plan remains to be seen.
