Adieu Paris - One Year Later | Citizens Against Government Waste

Adieu Paris - One Year Later

The WasteWatcher

One year ago, on June 1, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty, or the Paris Accord.  The significance of this wise and correct decision still rings true today.

President Trump’s action removed the U.S. from an unrealistic goal of reducing carbon emissions that would have cost our nation billions of dollars, harmed our economy, a loss of millions of jobs, and have done very little to reduce the earth's temperature, its supposed main purpose.  His decision saved our country from contributing $100 billion per year until 2020 for the U.N. Green Climate Fund, a gigantic wealth transfer program to developing countries.  And, the decision protects U.S. sovereignty and energy policy from faceless, unelected international bureaucrats.

The Paris Climate Treaty is nothing more than a war on fossil fuels that would have forced the use of alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, which are not viable alternatives to oil or natural gas.  Bjorn Lomborg, author of the book “The Skeptical Environmentalist” and president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, wrote in a 2016 Huffington Post article, “if renewable energy is cheaper than dirty fossil fuels, why isn’t everyone adopting them?”  He lays out the economic problems with solar and wind energy and why investing billions of dollars in government subsidies would be foolish, as these sources would remain a trivial contribution to global energy use far into the future.

A June 2017 National Review article discusses the numerous problems with solar panels, which are rarely mentioned.  They create toxic waste, particularly when they reach the end of their lifespan and producing them is environmentally hazardous, as well.  Plus, mining still needs to occur to obtain the rare earth metals that are used in their construction.

It is just as well the U.S. withdrew because countries that have remained in the treaty are falling short of the treaty’s requirements, giving credence to Bjorn Lomborg’s argument that it is too expensive for very little gain.

Equally important, because President Obama used his “pen and his phone” to  agree to the climate treaty, it was just as easy for President Trump to withdraw the U.S. from its obligations.  There is a lesson to be learned when it comes to treaties: follow the Constitution.  By doing so, there is a political consensus and it is a legal agreement. President Obama never presented the Paris Climate Treaty to the Senate for “advice and consent” to secure its ratification.  He knew it would not have received the necessary 2/3 votes of Senators present and decided to play King instead.

Instead of the slow withdrawal from the agreement, Citizens Against Government Waste urges President Trump to submit the Paris Climate Treaty to the Senate, recommend a no vote, and get a final and firm answer on the disaster this agreement truly is.

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