The opening session of the U.N. Climate Conference began today, Nov. 15, 2016, in Marrakech, Morocco. President Barack Obama played a major role in getting the landmark climate change accord adopted by nearly 200 U.N. countries last year. While the agreement has no enforcement provisions, it does set targets to reverse the worst effects of global warming. Donald Trump has sworn he will dismantle it. He does not believe in global warming.
The President-elect’s views on climate change were first made public in a tweet he posted back on Nov. 6, 2012.
But he has actually tweeted many times about how he does not accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is real. You can read all of his tweets on “climate change” and “global warming” by clicking HERE
Trump has made clear that he wants to completely do away with the Paris Agreement, and he is already working on withdrawing.
As we came closer to November 8 and it began to appear that Trump might actually have a chance of winning the presidency, U.N. nations began ratifying the agreement at a much faster rate– apparently to get the deal formalized before Trump could be elected. The agreement officially went into effect just 4 days before the election, on Nov. 4.
Under the agreement, all countries that signed have to abide by its terms for a mandatory period of 3 years (from the date of going into effect, Nov. 4, 2016). After the 3 years expires, any country may decide to withdraw, but the process of getting out takes one full year. So, could not call for withdrawal until 2019, and withdrawal could not happen until 2020. By that time, Trump will be facing re-election.
French President Francois Hollande praised President Obama for his role in getting the landmark deal adopted, and urged President-elect Trump not to try to deep-six the Agreement.
“[T]his agreement is irreversible. . . . The United States, the most powerful economy in the world, the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, must respect the commitments that were made. It’s not simply their duty, it’s in their interest.”
The scientific community has overwhelmingly concluded that fossil fuels are the biggest culprits in man-made global warming, but Trump disagrees, saying global warming is a hoax. He’s not alone. A number of other Republican politicians agree– many of whom receive 7-figure contributions from companies that profit from industries that are responsible for global warming. Few of these nay-sayers are scientists with any real understanding of the science.
Like Hollande, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made clear that the international agreement is “unstoppable.” He said that no nation, “however resourceful or powerful, [has a] right to gamble with the fate of future generations — or imperil the survival of other species that share our planet.”
