November 2, 2020
U.S. Will Withdraw From Paris Climate Agreement One Day After Election
By Dalton Guillory
This coming Wednesday, only one day after what many see as one of the most important election days in U.S. history, several states will just be starting to count their ballots. But this November 3rd marks a second momentous occasion for Americans: The day the United States will be officially pulled out of The Paris Climate Agreement. The country’s withdrawal from the agreement has huge implications for the fate of national and international climate policy. The only chance for the U.S. to reenter the accord in the next four years would depend on Joe Biden winning the presidency.
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The adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement by leaders from 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties, (COP21) in December 2015 was a major turning point in international environmental politics. The United States formally entered the agreement in September 2016 under the Obama administration. The Paris Agreement could not be put into effect until a minimum of 55 nations emitting 55% of the global carbon pollution had formally joined. In October 2016, that minimum was reached and in November of that year, the agreement took effect. Under the Agreement, each developed nation involved must cut their industrial, commercial and residential emissions and help developing countries adopt environmentally sustainable practices. The United Nations
The United States entered the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 under President Obama.
requires each country to regularly report their emissions and the methods being implemented to reduce them. Every five years each country’s nationally determined contribution of emissions is assessed and made public to ensure that progress is being made.
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The Trump administration stopped upholding the United States’ obligations to the arrangement during the summer of 2017, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and providing previously decided upon funding for developing nations. On November of last year, a formal notification of the United States’ withdrawal was submitted to the UN. According to the terms of the agreement, there was a one-year waiting period for the United to be officially separated from the agreement. The U.S. has been the only country to withdraw from the deal thus far.
President Trump has said that he wants “crystal clear water and air” however, his actions have proven otherwise. During his presidency thus far, he has expanded offshore drilling, increased the amount of air pollutants that petroleum refineries are allowed to emit, removed protections for various threatened and endangered species, proposed opening portions of national forests to mining and logging, and declined to ban a toxic pesticide.
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Racheal Cleetus, policy director with the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, has stated that "the reality is, to really deliver on our climate goals, we do need strong federal action.” Essentially, United States needs an administration that believes in science and puts the climate crisis at the forefront of its priorities if it wants to make significant progress in lessening the effects of climate change.
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The Biden campaign has proposed a Green New Deal to combat today’s climate crisis. This plan would recommit the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, and promise to reach a 100% clean energy economy with net-zero emissions by 2050. A Biden administration would invest in clean energy by removing the tax incentives put in place by the current administration that benefit big corporations at the expense of the American people and the environment. Biden has demonstrated an understanding of the need to protect the Earth’s biological diversity, planning to allocate 30% of America’s lands and waters to conservation by 2030. As president, he would protect Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other areas that reflect America’s natural heritage. He would also ban new oil and gas permits on public lands and waters while enhancing reforestation efforts. Regarding the cleaning of polluted areas, Biden’s Green New Deal would invest in carbon capture sequestration technology (CCUS). This technology has the potential to benefit the economy and innovate carbon remediation efforts.
In contrast to Biden’s comprehensive plan to combat global climate change, Trump has consistently denied the existence of the phenomenon, and his few promises for environmental protection in a second term have been vague. These assurances have been doubted by many, considering his pattern of unfulfilled promises in the past four years, such as replacing the Affordable Care Act.
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While there are many important issues at play in the 2020 election, many Americans consider global climate change to be one of the most pressing. Political pundits have argued that a vote for the president is essentially a vote for the fate of the planet. University of Baltimore lecturer Ron Kipling Williams has said, “Why would you not participate in [voting]? What do you have to lose?” The answer, as implied, is “nothing.” Conversely, by not voting in this election, we could arguably lose the livability of our only home, the Earth.