November 4: On This Day In 2019
A historic initiative: The Paris Agreement, struck in 2015, was humanity’s most ambitious comprehensive pact to combat climate change together. The overarching goal, agreed to by 197 countries, was to stop temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees (C) over pre-industrial levels. And it included a series of actions each country should strive for to help the world meet its targets.
The United States is among the top CO2 emitters, so our participation in the agreement was vital not just to help tamp down greenhouse gases in the atmosphere but also to reinforce the need for other countries to join us and work together to solve a global issue.
President Obama considered it one of the most important accomplishments of his presidency.
But the pride Obama took in the deal felt like a dagger to Trump. If an agreement had been made by a predecessor, it often was a target of Donald Trump’s scorn.
So upon taking office he vowed to quit this international treaty, and he finally succeeded OTDI 2019.
Trump’s single-handed action hurt America in many ways: He gave further proof that the U.S. can no longer be relied upon to keep our treaties with the world. After all, if an obligation can so be so easily cancelled each time a new president comes to power, what’s the point of making any long-term deal with us? We also gave tacit permission to other countries to consider ignoring their obligations.
We lost our leadership position in setting the climate agenda. We also lost an opportunity to take leadership in developing the key technologies for the 21st century. We lost the chance to reduce pollution in this country. And, of course, we lost the opportunity to help prevent or minimize the impact of climate change.
As of 2024, of those 197 countries, the only ones who haven’t formally ratified the Paris Agreement yet are Iran, Libya, and Yemen. It’s seldom a good look for the U.S. when it’s the four of us in a coalition against the rest of the planet.
“The United States has been written off in many cases as a partner,” said climate envoy Jonathan Pershing. “You just can’t count on them.”
Biden fixed it: President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement on his first day in office in 2021. Of course, though, there’s nothing stopping President Trump from again reneging on our country’s obligations should he win tomorrow.
Speaking of "winning tomorrow," ICYMI our TVC: Trump Values Checklist is clickable here, and our Closing Argument is here
Dive Deeper
No ally to saving the planet, Trump also rolled back more than 110 environmental regulations in this country designed to keep America's air and water clean.
The BBC covered the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris agreement
ABC News reported on the impact of Trump’s pullout
Check out NPR’s reporting on Biden moving to have the U.S. rejoin
The New York Times quotes Pershing
On This Day In The Trump Administration: Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreement