On September 16, social media lit up with a Wall Street Journal breaking news report that the Trump Administration is seeking ways to stay in the Paris Climate Treaty.
After working with dozens of other free market, pro-liberty groups for six months encouraging the President to keep one of his most important campaign promises — to withdraw from the economy-killing and poverty producing Paris climate accord — I feared the worst. Despite his June 1 announcement that he intended to withdraw, the swamp had finally gotten to President Trump.
A colleague emailed, simply, “fake news.” The White House quickly sought to shoot the report down. The President had not reversed course on withdrawing from the Paris Climate Treaty, that is unless his team strikes “a better deal”.
This exercise was a reminder: The fight leading up to the President’s announced intention to withdraw from Paris was intense. He faced enormous pressure from leaders around the world, domestic and international corporate media, multinational corporations, universities, think tanks, and numerous other external forces. The loudest cries were from those who have a vested interest in the $1.5 trillion global climate change industry.
There was also organized internal pressure to flip-flop on his promise to the American people, from Obama holdovers, career staff and even some Trump appointees. The “Remain” crowd are a powerful group including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Goldman Sachs official, now chair of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and even Trump’s family.
The “Remain” position was strengthened by White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon’s departure in August. Bannon strongly and effectively articulated the case for withdrawing from the Paris deal.
It’s important to understand that the President’s June 1st announcement is not the finish line, but the starting gun for a race that will not conclude until November 5, 2019, when Trump can send a formal letter to the United Nations, given his chosen course of withdrawal. He could withdraw that letter any time before the 2020 elections, as he or a successor could at any time thereafter. This is at best a temporary solution.
President Obama signed the Paris Climate Treaty in 2016 but refused to send it to the U.S. Senate for its constitutionally required “advice and consent.” Sending it, or some altered version if his team does claim to strike that “better deal,” would at least ensure we follow the law, whatever the outcome.
Alternatively, the President could withdraw completely from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which Paris not only purports to amend, but clearly rewrites. This would automatically withdraw the U.S. from the Paris treaty effective year from the date we inform the U.N.
Until the announcement is finalized, preferably in some more durable form than a letter, we remain party to the Paris treaty. As the recent “Remain!” episode reminds us, powerful internal and external forces continue advocating reversal of Trump’s announced plans, working the entire Swamp — media, diplomats and Congress — winking at U.N. officials to not give up on getting the President to reverse course.
Another point to always keep in mind is why we withdrew from the Paris Climate Treaty in the first place. President Trump said it best at his June 1st announcement: “The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers — who I love — and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories, and vastly diminished economic production.”
He also alluded to its constitutional infirmity, which no “better deal” can remedy. End Paris, don’t mend it.
In addition to destroying the U.S. economy and killing jobs, Paris will exacerbate “Energy Poverty,” now ravaging Europe. President Obama used to say look to Europe if you want to see the what this agenda holds for the U.S.
We couldn’t agree more.
E&E Legal recently released an updated green energy poverty video revealing the toll on seniors and the most vulnerable where these climate polices advocated in the Paris Climate Treaty have taken root. The video features news headlines and claims by left-wing groups and social service organizations decrying what they acknowledge is the “scandal” of these many premature deaths, generally from hypothermia due to skyrocketing electricity bills.
Unlike computer-prophesied scenarios of the future, these consequences are real. They are a direct, disgraceful result of European climate policies that cannot rationally be what it purports given these policies have no projected climate impact.
This is why we must continue supporting President Trump’s courageous position to withdraw from the Paris Climate Treaty despite the Swamp campaign pressuring him to give in.
