Trump Withdraws from Paris Accord

Share

See Twitter feed: accuracy/lists/environment.

MA’IKWE LUDWIG, maikwe.ludwig[at]gmail.com
Author of the new book Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption, Ludwig just wrote the piece “Paris Agreement Discord Highlights Need For Community-based Climate Action.” Ludwig is executive director of Commonomics USA.

DAPHNE WYSHAM, daphne[at]sustainable-economy.org
In Portland, Oregon, Wysham is director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Center for Sustainable Economy. She said today: “Trump has made it abundantly clear that his primary focus is enriching his fellow billionaires, so it is no surprise that he is withdrawing from an agreement that is hitting the poorest first and worst globally with extreme weather events, crop failure, and diseases. Fortunately, local and state elected officials in the U.S., pressured by people of conscience, have taken up the climate leadership mantle abandoned by our federal government, showing the way toward a more just approach to a clean, stable climate future.”

NEIL TANGRI, neil.tangri[at]gmail.com
Tangri is a PhD candidate in climate science at Stanford University. He previously led the international wastepicker/GAIA climate change campaign, which succeeded in ending international climate subsidies for incinerators and landfills. He is an expert on international environmental policy and finance.

He said today: “Trump’s decision isn’t going to affect U.S. emissions, which is ultimately what is most important. As renewables replace fossil fuels and electric vehicles replace gasoline cars, those will continue to drop, albeit not as fast or as far as needed. The pull-out from Paris is going to change the international political dynamic. Already, China, India, the EU, and even Russia have re-affirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement, which is good news for the world. It means that the U.S. is abandoning its influence in the international arena, and the world will increasingly look to China for leadership on climate and other issues.”

VARSHINI PRAKASH, varshini[at]sunrisemovement.org
Prakash is co-founder of the group Sunrise, which said today in a statement: “Donald Trump just removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, following the encouragement of Steve Bannon and 22 Republican senators. When justice prevails, history will remember them as greedy and cynical men who gambled with the lives of billions. It’s no coincidence that the 22 senators have taken more than $10 million from Big Oil in the last six years.”