BBC Online :
President Donald Trump’s words and actions are restricting global efforts to cut carbon, according to a new study.
The analysis says the US’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement has created the political cover for others to go slow on their commitments.
The author says the world is in denial about President Trump’s true impact.
The study comes as delegates begin two weeks of UN-led talks here on the future of the Paris pact.
President Trump has justified pulling his country out of the landmark climate agreement by asserting that he was elected to serve the citizens of Pittsburgh and not Paris.
However, other international leaders promised that there would be no going back, and that the US pull-out would galvanise efforts to cut carbon.
The sense of unity was underlined in November 2017 when Syria signed
the Paris agreement, leaving the US alone in the world as the only country rejecting the deal.
Media captionUN Secretary General Antonio Guterres: “Climate change is a global issue, we are all failing.”
But this new report. from the Institute of International and European Affairs, suggests that President Trump’s words and deeds are causing “very real damage” to the Paris agreement.
The author outlines three key areas where the Trump effect is having an impact.
Under the President, US federal environmental regulations on oil, gas and coal have been rolled back and, as a result, some of the dirtiest fossil fuel projects have become more attractive to investors.
The author says that the US withdrawal from Paris has created the “moral and political cover for others to follow suit”, citing the examples of Russia and Turkey – which have both declined to ratify the Paris deal.
The US pull-out has also “severely damaged goodwill at international negotiations”, something that’s crucial to progress in these talks here in Poland.
When it comes to fossil fuels, the author cites the example of investments in the coal sector by 36 US banks, which saw a decline of 38% in 2016 after the Paris agreement was signed, but which rose by 6% in 2017 after President Trump was sworn in.
President Donald Trump’s words and actions are restricting global efforts to cut carbon, according to a new study.
The analysis says the US’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement has created the political cover for others to go slow on their commitments.
The author says the world is in denial about President Trump’s true impact.
The study comes as delegates begin two weeks of UN-led talks here on the future of the Paris pact.
President Trump has justified pulling his country out of the landmark climate agreement by asserting that he was elected to serve the citizens of Pittsburgh and not Paris.
However, other international leaders promised that there would be no going back, and that the US pull-out would galvanise efforts to cut carbon.
The sense of unity was underlined in November 2017 when Syria signed
the Paris agreement, leaving the US alone in the world as the only country rejecting the deal.
Media captionUN Secretary General Antonio Guterres: “Climate change is a global issue, we are all failing.”
But this new report. from the Institute of International and European Affairs, suggests that President Trump’s words and deeds are causing “very real damage” to the Paris agreement.
The author outlines three key areas where the Trump effect is having an impact.
Under the President, US federal environmental regulations on oil, gas and coal have been rolled back and, as a result, some of the dirtiest fossil fuel projects have become more attractive to investors.
The author says that the US withdrawal from Paris has created the “moral and political cover for others to follow suit”, citing the examples of Russia and Turkey – which have both declined to ratify the Paris deal.
The US pull-out has also “severely damaged goodwill at international negotiations”, something that’s crucial to progress in these talks here in Poland.
When it comes to fossil fuels, the author cites the example of investments in the coal sector by 36 US banks, which saw a decline of 38% in 2016 after the Paris agreement was signed, but which rose by 6% in 2017 after President Trump was sworn in.
