The United States have backed out of the Paris Climate Accord but many do not know what the agreement is all about. Though U.S. President Donald trump is getting a lot of flak about his decision to get out of the accord, it is important for people to know how will this decision affect the United States and the world.
What is the Paris Climate Accord all about?
The Paris accord is an agreement made by mostly developed nations aiming to solve global warming through cutting carbon dioxide emissions to a certain level that is enough to prevent climate change.
This is an agreement made in 2015 by 195 countries and many see this as the best way to confront climate change in our lifetime.
Each country gives a voluntary pledge on how much they will cut greenhouse gas emissions in the idea that cumulatively, the amount reduced will slow down climate change significantly. The agreement binds these countries to comply with their pledges and allow other countries to monitor each other if their reduction pledges kept.
Countries in the accord are expected to develop ways to cut their carbon emissions in any legal way possible and this meant more government expenditure. U.S. President Trump is an ardent opponent of this accord from the start of his campaign and had vowed to pull the country out of that agreement.
What is Trump's reasoning for pulling the U.S. out of the accord?
For Trump's administration, the main contention is that climate change is not directly related to the increase in carbon emissions. Because of this, many in Trump's camp are saying that the whole agreement is just a useless expenditure on something that may not be real.
However, many empirical studies have shown that climate change is happening and that carbon emissions have a significant impact. Trump had chosen economy first and thus used this reason to justify his exit from the agreement.
What will happen after the U.S. exits the agreement?
The United States' exit from the accord is a major blow to the agreement.
The U.S. is seen by many countries as the leader in solving climate change and Trump pulling out is a devastating move.
Some analysts fear that because of the U.S. exit, many countries will follow suit and leave the agreement thus ending this global effort before it can actually begin. However, if the agreement does continue, the United States will be left out from the technological innovations that will be developed through the funds generated by this accord.
In the end, Trump's gamble may usher the end of the Paris Climate Accord or usher in a new era where the United States is no longer the leader of the free world.
