The United States and the Paris Climate Agreement

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
The United States and the Paris Climate Agreement
The Paris Climate Agreement is known as the Paris Climate Accord, Paris Agreement or Paris Climate Deal is an agreement that the United Nations sponsored to bring countries around the world together to battle against climate change. 195 nations signed the accord in France on 12th December 2015. However, the implementation of the official agreement was in November 2016 (Al Jazeera) The pact aimed to restrict the signatory countries to limit global average temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius beyond the levels during the pre-industrial period and intending to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. Failure to observe this the temperature level change would result in severe consequences that would affect the production of food globally, supplies of clean water, dangerous and more increase of climate events such as drought and floods. Therefore, to achieve the goal, the global emission of the greenhouse gases will have to be reduced by approximately 40 to 70 percent before 2050 and the whole planet should be carbon neutral by 2100. In the agreement, each country was required to come up with its climate strategies to handle the emission of greenhouse gasses.
For instance, under Barack Obama’s government, America had promised that they reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases by 17 percent compared to 2005 levels and approximately 26 – 28 percent. They also committed to offering 3 billion to help the developing nations by 2020.

They have so far provided 1 billion. China promised that it would do its best to eliminate the emissions around 2030 and by that time it would it would be obtaining about 20 percent of its electricity from sources that are carbon-free (Plumer). European Union promised by 2030 it would reduce its carbon output by 40 percent. However, each country member has its target centered on its economic potential. India pledged to decrease its carbon output based on economic activity per unit corresponding to historical levels. Both Peru and Yemen have promised to reduce the emission by 30 percent and 1 percent respectively. However, Yemen said if given some financial aid it would increase its pledge of 1 percent to 14 percent. North Korea, Iran, India, Egypt, Niger, Paraguay, Cuba, and the Central African Republic have said unless they are paid, they will continue polluting the environment (Wolfgang). Therefore, each country is expected to lessen its carbon output based on their plans and objectives.
However, the majority of the developing countries will not be able to achieve their goal without some form of financial assistance. The financial aspect of the Paris Accord requires that the developed nations assist developing countries in handling the climate change by funding projects that make use of low carbon. It would help reduce the usage of fossils which are high in the production of greenhouse gases. Without the estimated funds, the Paris Agreement will only remain a promise instead of a reality. Research shows that the United Nations would require approximately $100 billion per year to be able to achieve its set goal to the environment that has less emission of the green gases. It also adds that by 2020 the figures are likely to increase to around $400 billion (Wolfgang). The disappointing fact is that the developed countries are not keeping their promise to honor the pledge. For example, President Obama’s Administration had promised that it would pay 3 billion to assist the developing country and so far, it has paid 1 billion. However, Trump Administration will not sign off any other payment. Trump claims that America will not pay because the U.S. which is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases has given a lot of money so far compared to any other country including China which is the leading emitter of the gases. He claims that other countries have not started contributing any amount and some will never even give a dime towards the project. Also, he argued that keeping their side of the agreement would result in America l by 2025 lose around 2.7 million jobs (Shears). Therefore, He has decided to pull out from the Paris agreement. However, he is willing to abide by the withdrawal process that was laid down by the Paris agreement. The withdrawal agreement demands that a member could only officially leave after he has stayed for three years. Therefore, the United States of America can request to withdraw from the Accord in November 2019. However, the formal withdrawal would be in November 2020.
The United States of America’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement did not have any legal consequences because the Paris Accord did not have any form of legal binding to nations that do not fulfill their commitment. However, President Trump has received a lot of criticism from the European Nations countries such as France, Italy, and Germany who immediately told President Trump that it would be impossible for the Paris agreement to be renegotiated. However, The European Union and other countries such as China have instead come out to maintain their support for the accord. Also, various international leaders such Koichi Yamamoto, Josh Frydenberg, Paula Bennett, Berliner Kurier, and Enrique Pena Nieto do not support Trump’s move (Watts and Connolly). They believe the Paris Agreement is essential for the economies, planet, and societies (Simon-Lewis). Trump is also facing opposition from his country whereby around thirty states have expressed their desire to continue with their climate change policies and be able to minimize greenhouse gases emissions (Simon-Lewis). Major companies from America such as Adobe, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, VF Corporation , Unilever, Morgan Stanley, Tiffany & Co. , National Grid, Salesforce, Facebook, Dignity Health Google and many more are advising President Trump to allow the United States of America remain in the Paris Agreement for the good of American’s economy (“Business support for the Paris Agreement”). They claimed that by continuing in the Paris Agreement American’s economy and many businesses would benefit a lot. It would strengthen competitiveness globally however if America were left out it would create a risk of economic imbalance for American companies. By expanding markets for the new clean technologies, the Paris Accord would develop employment and economic growth for the companies. If the global action is strengthened over time, it will reduce the impact of future climates, including reduction of water supplies and agriculture productivity, the damage that could affect business operations and facilities and interference with worldwide supply chains (“Business support for the Paris Agreement”).
On the other hand, few individuals seem to support the decision of President Trump such as The Republican lawyers and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (Shear). However, they do not seem to be against the objectives of the Paris Agreement to support the reduction of greenhouse gases emission. However, they are against the policies that were made during the Obama’s administration, which seems to be unfair towards the economy of America. They claim that the country would use a lot of money investing in other countries to change to improve them instead of using the money to create jobs for its citizens and develop domestic clean energy sources (Shear). Therefore, we can make a simple conclusion that there is need worldwide to find ways to reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases. However, all countries should agree on means that would be acceptable and comfortable to all.
Work Cited
Al Jazeera. “Paris climate agreement: What you need to know.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 3 June 2017, www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/paris-climate-agreement-170602102754827.html. Accessed 25 January 2018
“Business support for the Paris Agreement.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 23 Oct. 2017, www.c2es.org/content/business-support-for-the-paris-agreement/. Accessed 25 January 2018
Plumer, Brad. “Q. & A.: The Paris Climate Accord.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 May 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/climate/qa-the-paris-climate-accord.html. Accessed 25 January 2018
Shear, Michael. “Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 June 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/trump-paris-climate-agreement.html?_r=0. Accessed 25 January 2018
Simon-Lewis, Alexandra. “What is the Paris climate agreement and who has signed it?” WIRED, WIRED UK, 7 Nov. 2017, www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-paris-agreement-on-climate-change. Accessed 25 January 2018
Watts, Jonathan, and Kate Connolly. “World leaders react after Trump rejects Paris climate deal.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/01/trump-withdraw-paris-climate-deal-world-leaders-react. Accessed 25 January 2018
Wolfgang, Ben. “Developing nations in Paris climate accord threaten to keep polluting unless they’re paid.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 5 June 2017, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/5/paris-climate-agreement-shares-nations-wealth/. Accessed 25 January 2018