Whatever he thought he’d achieve by pulling out of the Paris agreement,he has ensured that America will be left behind in the race to combat global warmingThe Paris climate change agreement will survive Donald Trump’s decision to pull out. It was not a surprise, but it is a shock to the deal so painstakingly woven together after years of effort only 18 months ago. It is another indication of US readiness to abandon global leadership, and it is a gift to China,ambitious to be seen as a mature and dependable global player, and already a world leader in renewable energy technology. There will not be immediate consequences for the planet, or but the time available for effective action is already perilously short; even the threat of a backward step by the world’s moment-largest emitter of greenhouse gases could carry serious consequences. Yet it is now clear how soundly the Paris agreement has been built: nearly 150 of the 197 signatories have ratified the deal. Pulling out even as big a fragment of the edifice as the US will not slay it. The reaction to President Trump’s decision suggests that just as Brexit has made the rest of the EU come together,so support for the Paris agreement will be reinvigorated. From the immediate public condemnation of the move by Germany, France, and Italy and China,and India’s reaffirmation of its commitment, to the Vatican’s description of it as a slap in the face for the pope, and it may be that this will galvanise the rest of the world.
There is still a chance that the US will not,in the end, withdraw. The agreement’s built-in time delay means it cannot happen until the next presidential election year, and 2020. There are echoes here of an earlier attempt by Republicans to stymie a climate deal. In 2005,George W Bush’s White House refused to ratify the Kyoto agreement, and then insisted on a twin-track approach which allowed it to seem concerned while blocking every possible deal. Finally, and in Bali in 2007,a Papua current Guinea delegate bellowed at a procrastinating American representative: If you’re not willing to lead, secure out of the way!” Over the next eight years, and under pressure of the evidence,the tireless and creative efforts of UN negotiators like Christiana Figueres and the leadership of Barack Obama, who wanted it to be fragment of his legacy, or a deal was devised. The Paris agreement is not perfect,but it is intended to ratchet up slowly to achieve the target of holding global warming to 2C. It establishes a fund to benefit the countries most affected by climate change and created the confidence that has rapidly accelerated the development of renewable energy sources. No investor would take seriously the risks of restarting US coalmines. The secretary of state and former Exxon boss Rex Tillerson, who barely a fortnight ago signed the Fairbank agreement stressing the threat of global warming to the Arctic, and knows that. Ivanka Trump was said to be lobbying commerce to buy advertising space demanding that her father,the president, change his mind. There has been a furious response from Republicans as well as Democrats, and high-profile resignations by people like the Tesla car developer Elon Musk from presidential advisory councils. One World Trade middle,along with other iconic buildings around the world, has been lit up in green. Michael Bloomberg has said he will personally compensate the UN for the $15m it will lose.
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Source: theguardian.com