Current:Home > reviewsTrump’s Paris Climate Accord Divorce: Why It Hasn’t Happened Yet and What to Expect -MacroWatch
Trump’s Paris Climate Accord Divorce: Why It Hasn’t Happened Yet and What to Expect
View
Date:2025-04-14 07:02:37
The Trump administration, which separated from the international community on climate change soon after taking office, filed for divorce on Monday by formally notifying the United Nations that it was withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.
Just as in a real break-up, the step was not surprising, and a long process lies ahead. Here are answers to some questions about what it all means.
Why make this announcement now?
When nations signed on to the Paris Agreement in 2015, agreeing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep rising global temperatures in check, one of the provisions was that no nation would be permitted to exit the deal for three years.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s announcement Monday of the formal U.S. retreat came on the first day that it was possible for the U.S. to make the move. The rules of the treaty also require an additional one-year waiting period for the withdrawal to be finalized—meaning it won’t be official until Nov. 4, 2020, one day after the presidential election.
Is the U.S. really cutting carbon emissions?
No. Pompeo suggested that the U.S. carbon footprint is dropping in his announcement, pointing to the 13 percent decline in carbon emissions from 2005 to 2017. But that doesn’t count what has been happening since the Trump administration began rolling back climate-related policies.
Official government figures won’t be available until April, but the consulting firm Rhodium Group estimates that in 2018, as Trump policies took hold, emissions increased 3.4 percent, reversing three consecutive years of decline. And the U.S. Energy Information Administration, basing its forecast on current U.S. policies, projected earlier this year that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would hold steady through 2050—a disastrous course for the planet.
How are other countries responding?
Two things seem apparent—an increasing role for China and a shortfall in ambition.
The United States has left a huge void by backing away from the Paris process. Not only is the U.S. the largest historic contributor of atmospheric carbon emissions, it is the country that helped shape the approach that broke the logjam between the developed and developing nations to pave the way for the treaty.
China, currently the largest carbon emitter, has stepped into the void—co-chairing discussions and helping to shape the technical rules for the accord. However, at the UN Climate Summit in New York in September, it became clear that the world’s major polluters, including China, have not made the needed moves to increase their commitments.
Does this mean the U.S. is out of Paris for good?
A future administration could rejoin the treaty with a mere 30-day waiting period. All of the Democratic presidential candidates say they are committed to returning to the fold and raising the ambition of U.S. commitments.
In the meantime, state and local leaders who are committed to climate action—the “We are Still In” coalition—announced Monday that they plan to send a small delegation to climate talks in Madrid in December. Their goal: “to build connections, strengthen partnerships, and find opportunities to advance American interests and collaborate with one another to tackle the climate crisis.”
veryGood! (75)
Related
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Watch: Rare blonde raccoon a repeat visitor to Iowa backyard, owner names him Blondie
- Watch: Rare blonde raccoon a repeat visitor to Iowa backyard, owner names him Blondie
- University of Arizona announces financial recovery plan to address its $240M budget shortfall
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Big pharmacies could give your prescription info to cops without a warrant, Congress finds
- Guyana and Venezuela leaders meet face-to-face as region pushes to defuse territorial dispute
- Fireworks on New Year's Eve send birds into a 'panicked state,' scientists discover
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Artificial intelligence is not a silver bullet
Ranking
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Hayao Miyazaki looks back
- Broken wings: Complaints about U.S. airlines soared again this year
- What I Learned About Clean Energy in Denmark
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- The Shohei Ohani effect: Jersey sales, ticket prices soar after signing coveted free agent
- Some 2024 GOP hopefuls call for ‘compassion’ in Texas abortion case but don’t say law should change
- Experts at odds over result of UN climate talks in Dubai; ‘Historic,’ ‘pipsqueak’ or something else?
Recommendation
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
US Marine killed, 14 injured at Camp Pendleton after amphibious vehicle rolls over
Why Twilight’s Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson “Never Really Connected on a Deep Level”
Bachelor Nation's Shawn Booth Welcomes First Baby With Dre Joseph
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
NBA All-Star George McGinnis dies at 73 after complications from a cardiac arrest
Lawmaker’s suspension means a possible special election and more trouble for U.K. Conservatives
NBA All-Star George McGinnis dies at 73 after complications from a cardiac arrest