Commentary: Reaction Overblown to Withdrawal from Climate Accord

President Donald Trump sent the left wing aflutter when he withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.

The agreement represents a noble goal, but in the world of climate science (and climate politics), there are unknowns and educated guesses that can render even the best of intentions ineffective. At its best, the Paris Agreement is something that makes people feel good. That feeling, though, may have very little impact. You can tell a dripping glacier you drive a Prius, but it is still going to melt.

Each of the 195 countries in the agreement submitted a climate-action plan. The U.S. plan set the voluntary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025. The problem, though, is that there is no guarantee that these measures will have any impact on the changing climate.

There are, however, a few certainties with the Paris Agreement.

One certainty: It will be costly. In climate negotiations leading up to the Paris conference, participants called for a Green Climate Fund that would collect $100 billion per year by 2020. The fund would support green energy and climate adaptation and mitigation programs in the world’s poorer nations. The thought was that the rich nations (particularly the biggest polluting rich nations like the U.S.) would shoulder the largest part of the hefty bill. The Obama administration sent a billion taxpayer dollars to this fund already with another couple of billion promised.

Another certainty is that climate-change work will continue with or without the U.S. in the agreement. The U.S., including agriculture, has made tremendous strides in protecting the environment. Close to 200 countries, accounting for 87 percent of global emissions, remain committed to the Paris Agreement. The same goes with a growing number of states, cities and major businesses in the U.S.

Also certain is that the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will not have a cataclysmic impact.

“The Earth’s climate has been changing since the planet was formed—on this there is no disagreement,” said Sonny Perdue, USDA Secretary. “At USDA, we rely on sound science and we remain firmly committed to digging ever deeper into research to develop better methods of agricultural production in that changing climate.”

A final certainty: The agreement has support in the U.S. and around the world. People want to do the right thing and they want to feel good about their efforts.    

Source: Ohio’s County Journal