Trump backs away from pledge to 'cancel' Paris Climate Agreement
President-elect Donald J. Trump has not been inaugurated yet, but he's already backtracking on some of his most high-profile campaign positions.
The latest walk-back concerns global climate change: specificallys the agreement that world leaders recently put in place to rein in emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
In an interview on Tuesday with senior reporters and editors of the New York Times, Trump said he has "an open mind" on whether to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. “I’m looking at it very closely," he said.
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During the campaign, Trump was quite clear on this. During an energy policy speech on May 26, Trump said: “We’re going to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payment of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs."
During U.N. climate talks that ended this week, China emerged as the new leader on the issue if the U.S. were to stop mobilizing international support for climate action, as it has under President Obama.
The Paris Climate Agreement entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016, and sets a goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels through 2100.
It also contains an even more stringent target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, through 2100 in order to limit climate impacts on small island countries and other vulnerable nations.
In Trump's discussion with the Times, Trump said he is also keeping his mind open about whether global warming is mainly due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, or other causes.
Scientists, of course, settled this matter long ago, with the debate within the climate community now focused on just how severe the consequences of human-caused climate change will be, rather than whether the phenomenon exists in the first place.
Through his personnel decisions, Trump has given every indication that he plans to gut environmental regulations and boost fossil fuel production, including coal, which is the most carbon intensive fuel source.
The choice of longtime climate denier Myron Ebell to lead the transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, is just one example.
Environmental groups are skeptical that Trump's statements on Tuesday represent much of a change.
"Actions speak louder than words," said 350.org executive director Mary Boeve in a statement. "As long as Trump has a climate change denier like Myron Ebell running his transition team, you know this is all a bunch of empty rhetoric."
"... Trump is going on about fantasies like ‘clean coal’ and flip-flopping around on whether there’s ‘some connectivity’ between humans and climate change. The President-elect needs to get up to speed, and fast.”
Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, pointed to Trump's shortlist for cabinet positions dealing with climate issues, such as oil tycoon Harold Hamm for Energy Secretary, as evidence there is not much of a shift taking place.
"We’re waiting for action, and Trump is kidding nobody on climate as he simultaneously stacks his transition team and cabinet with climate science deniers and the dirtiest hacks the fossil fuel industry can offer," Brune said.
"Prove it, President-elect. The world is watching.”
Topics Donald Trump
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
