President Trump: US is withdrawing from Paris climate agreement because it is not fair
US President Donald Trump announced the US decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement. Mr. Trump announced the decision minutes ago in the Rose Garden of the White House, saying: "This agreement is not fair because it restricts the US but gives polluters like China more than ten years."
The climate change agreement was signed in Paris in 2015 by 195 countries. The Barack Obama administration signed it on behalf of the United States. At that time, all countries except Nicaragua and Syria had signed the treaty.
But the US president has been critical of it since his candidacy campaign, saying that the agreement would destroy many jobs in America.
In his speech at the White House on Thursday evening, June 3, Mr. Trump said, "The United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement but will continue to negotiate for a better deal in this regard."
The White House previously said in a statement: “The Paris Agreement is a bad deal for Americans, and today’s action by the President is fulfilling his campaign promise to prioritize American workers.” The White House statement also said: “The Obama administration negotiated this weak agreement and signed it out of necessity.”
Mr. Trump said the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement would help the US oil and coal industries.
Opposition reaction after President Trump's announcement
Opponents of this decision say that withdrawing from the Paris Agreement means removing American leadership in confronting this international challenge.
In the first reactions to President Trump's announcement, former US President Barack Obama, under whom the climate agreement was signed, said that Trump had "refused to embrace the future" by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. In his statement, Mr. Obama said that he believed that American states, cities and businesses would continue to lead the way and protect our children and our planet.
The mayor of Pittsburgh, who was mentioned in Mr. Trump's speech, was among those who objected in response to Mr. Trump's remarks. In his speech, Trump had said, "I represent Pittsburgh, not Paris."
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto tweeted that Pittsburgh is staying committed to the climate agreement for the people.
On the other hand, while President Trump spoke of renegotiating the Paris Agreement, the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy announced in a joint statement that the Paris Agreement is not renegotiable.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "Let's bring back the glory of our land," a reference to President Trump's campaign slogan calling for the return of glory to America.
The Washington Post says that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ivanka Trump, Mr. Trump's daughter and advisor, had urged him to stay in the agreement, saying that being part of the negotiations would be a tool of influence for the United States.
Mr. Trump's chief strategic advisor, Stephen Bannon, and Scott Pruitt, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, had called for the US to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Trump not to withdraw from the agreement, saying that the US, as the world's largest economy, is vital to supporting the Paris Agreement.
During his campaign, Mr. Trump called the Paris climate agreement a job killer for America and promised to withdraw from it. “I will take historic steps to remove restrictions on American energy, end government interference in this sector, and repeal regulations that kill jobs,” he said.
Opponents and supporters
The decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is expected to be praised by Republicans who support Donald Trump and anger environmentalists and US allies.
Some mayors of major American cities have opposed the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and have said they will remain committed to it.
The mayor of Los Angeles tweeted that he would implement the agreement. The mayor of New York also wrote that he would issue an executive order requiring his city to comply with the agreement.
The head of the Sierra Environmental Organization wrote in an email to VOA that withdrawing from the agreement would be a mistake that our descendants will say how a world leader could have been so far removed from reality and morality.
European Union leaders, who spoke with President Trump at the G7 summit last week, have expressed their opposition to the decision to withdraw from the agreement.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said European leaders had struggled to explain the complexity of withdrawing from the agreement to President Trump: "Europe must make it clear to the United States that withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement will not be an easy process and that full implementation will take years."
A group of twenty-two Republican senators wrote a letter to Donald Trump urging him to withdraw from the agreement because remaining in it would have many legal consequences for the United States.
The Labor Freedom Organization also said in a statement that complying with the agreement would be costly for the United States and could lead to the loss of about 400,000 jobs and a loss of more than two trillion dollars.
An analyst at the Heritage Foundation says it would be too easy for President Trump, who has called global warming unrealistic, to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Source: Voice of America
