#notallofus

Last week’s announcement by President Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement left me ashamed, scared, angry... Throughout these first few months of his presidency, I’ve tried to remain hopeful, but this is really pushing it.

I’ve hesitated to post something here about Trump because his term is temporary, while the sustainability issues that interest me have a longer lasting impact than hopefully this one man will have.  And there are a lot of smart people saying a lot already - I agree with some of them, others I think are overstating - and I’m not sure what I can really add to the conversation.

One thing that people who live abroad often say is that doing so gives them perspective.  As an American, I’ve been told my whole life that my country is the best, that’s it’s the “home of the free and the brave” (as if everywhere else in the world is less free and the people aren’t brave). This arrogance about being from the best country on earth was probably the first thing to go when I moved to France.  Sure, the US is great – really great – but it’s not that much greater than other developed countries (many of which are smarter, more innovative, and even happier). This reputation as being great but too arrogant is embarrassing, even more so during a world-stage-level event like… withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.

Americans like to think that their country is a global leader.  But, as a Facebook friend noted, it’s hard to lead something you’re not a part of.

Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a huge foreign policy mistake that will reverberate through our relationships with our allies. ... The U.S. is abdicating its moral leadership on one of the most important challenges of our time. - Samantha Gross, Brookings

From what I can tell, the major commentaries around Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement revolve around the following points:

It was dumb but predictable that Trump would withdrawal; doing so might not be so bad, given that the Accord itself has no legal teeth and if it lights a big enough fire under the butts of the majority/Democrats/climate and environmental activists. (Although this move is consistent with Trump’s other efforts to dismantle federal climate action, for instance with his choice of EPA director).  

The clean energy sector currently employs 3 million Americans, compared to just a few hundred thousand in the coal sector.  The Paris Agreement was an institutional structure that would have created further resources and jobs; no Agreement, no new jobs.

Despite many companies’ public support of the Paris Agreement and requests to Trump to remain, there will not likely be major domestic political fallout from withdrawing.  These companies will likely continue with their own climate change efforts as planned.

Politically speaking, the biggest impact is in the US’s legitimacy as a global leader:  “Abdicating U.S. responsibility in climate change mitigation and the coming clean energy transition is likely to make other international negotiations more challenging, particularly with respect to trade.”

Cities and other jurisdictions have responded to Trump’s withdrawal by symbolically committing to the Paris Agreement, making them test sites for clean energy innovation.