Memorandum on U.S. Policy on Climate Change

 TO: Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

FROM: Nicole Levesque, American Foreign Policy Student

DATE: April 24, 2018

SUBJECT: U.S. Policy in on Climate Change

SUMMARY

Scientific evidence has overwhelmingly supported the validity of global climate change, as the global temperature has continued to rise in the past century.  The Paris Climate Agreement was created to develop a collaborative effort in fighting climate change and in keeping the global temperature low by involving as many countries as possible in one collective effort with set international standards.  President Obama took on a leadership role in fighting climate change, and now President Trump has chosen to reverse that decision, citing economic and international trade-related concerns.  President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from the Agreement, which will damage the set the international community back in their efforts to combat climate change in recent years.  The United States should remain in the Paris Climate Agreement in order to maintain a global and public concern for climate change.

CONTEXT

In 2015, 195 countries signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to reduce carbon emissions as soon as possible.  Although this agreement is not legally binding and does not set clear timelines for countries to follow, it represents a widespread international effort to recognize climate change as a global issue and the need to fight it.  The Agreement requires countries to track their progress and sets up a transparent and accountable system for monitoring clean energy initiatives.  It requires member states to reconvene every five years to determine new and ambitious targets, thus establishing a structure of international climate diplomacy.  The Agreement offers funding for developing states involved, as more developed countries—such as the United States under the Obama administration—have committed to contribute money to assist developing countries make strides toward cleaner energy.  President Trump has been vocal about disliking the Agreement since his campaign, arguing that it threatens state sovereignty and the United States’ economy.  Claiming that it would cost the US 2.7 million jobs by 2025 and would create competition with overseas companies, President Trump has decided to have the United States leave the Agreement on November 4^th, 2020. 

EVIDENCE

As global climate change is a global issue, a collective international response involving as many states as possible was implemented to raise concern for the issue and to coordinate a response.  Although the United States took a leadership role in this process under the Obama administration, the recent shift in stance under President Trump has complicated international collaborative efforts and changed the global view of the importance of climate change.  Although many countries are vowing to stand by the Paris Climate Agreement, the loss of the powerful international leader on fossil fuel divestment and a continuation of funding for such initiatives changes the international perspective on climate change.  The United States is currently one of the top contributors to CO₂ emissions and thus plays a significant role in global climate change and the rising of the Earth’s temperature.  The purpose of such a large collective effort to accomplish a truly global goal was to demonstrate an effort to reduce the emission of fossil fuels and to create an international system in which states are publicly held accountable by each other.  Without a public commitment from such a powerful country that is so involved in this issue, the prospects for lowering and maintaining a low global temperature are unlikely.

TASK AND IMPLEMENTATION

While the United States is still currently part of the Paris Climate Agreement and has already contributed much of the committed three billion dollars, President Trump has begun the process of withdrawing, which will take almost the full duration of his current four-year term.  As the Agreement is not legally binding, there is little that the United States is required to do, but still President Trump insists on removing the state from the agreement in an effort to inspire international trade and reduce competition that might otherwise be affected by tightening environmental standards.  In a case such as this when the entire international community is affected, losing the United States as a leader and role model for combatting climate change may cause other countries to follow suit, especially other powerful CO₂ emitting states with which the United States competes in the area of trade.  In order to maintain a global and public concern for climate change, the United States should remain in the Paris Climate Agreement, and President Trump should stop the withdrawal process.  The targets for reducing carbon emissions are developed individually by country, and there is no required amount of money that countries must contribute to the collective effort, so the United States could alter the targeted goals or reduce their future monetary commitments if the concern is competition in international trade.  President Trump should not withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement in order to support the global effort at combating an issue as global as climate change.

CLOSING STATEMENT

The 194 other countries on board with the Paris Climate Agreement have shown that reducing CO₂ emissions is truly an issue worth fighting.  If the United States wants to maintain its position as a global diplomatic leader, it should continue supporting international climate change diplomacy.  Although President Trump is in the process of withdrawing the United States from the Agreement, there is still time to make any alterations necessary to appease opposing political forces and still show its support for this initiative.  By remaining in the Paris Climate Agreement, the United States would contribute to the lowering of the Earth’s temperature, a reduction of carbon emissions, and would inspire other countries to combat this global issue as well.